August Theater & Comedy
August Theater & Comedy: There’s more summer theater and comedy in August including Randy Rainbow, Cole Porter, Rip Van Winkel and Robin Hood for kids and of course Shakespeare.
Jay Mohr, Ridgefield Playhouse – Fri, 8/3: 8pm: Comedian, actor, radio host and best-selling author, Jay Mohr has been performing stand-up comedy since he was sixteen years old. After landing his dream job of Saturday Night Live, and launching his career with Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire, he appeared in over 200 episodes of network television and over 25 feature films working with a plethora of Academy Award-winning actors, including Christopher Walken, Rene Zellwegger, Al Pacino, Angelina Jolie, Cuba Gooding Jr, Ellen Burstyn, Kim Bassinger, Matt Damon, and Clint Eastwood. (80 E. Ridge, Ridgefield, CT; www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org)
Randy Rainbow, Tarrytown Music Hall – Sun, 8/5: 8pm: Political satirist and internet sensation, Randy Rainbow is best known for his musical tribute to the first presidential debate of 2016, Braggadocious, that received 28 million views on YouTube in its first two days. He has performed in NYC’s Birdland, 54 Below, XL Nightclub and at Therapy NYC where his weekly show ran for two years. (13 Main St, Tarrytown; www.tarrytownmusichall.org)
Rip Van Winkle, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Company – Fri-Sat 8/31-9/1 & Mon, 9/3: 7:30pm: In Seth Boakley’s new take on this old tale Rip is joined by an adventurous daughter and her hard-working mother, tinkers, butchers, innkeepers, tall tale-tellers and a few seafaring ghosts in HVSF’s first-ever mainstage commission. (Boscobel, 1601 Rt. 9D, Garrison; www.hvsf.org)
Anything Goes, Westchester Broadway Theatre – Thurs, 7/5- Sun, 9/9: Anything Goes,winner of three 2011 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival is considered one of the greatest Tap Dancing musicals of all time. There’s romance and laughter in this story about a nightclub singer, a stowaway and Public Enemy No. 13 on a transatlantic luxury liner. With an incomparable musical score from Cole Porter featuring timeless classics such as “It’s De-Lovely”, “I Get a Kick Out of You”, “You’re the Top”, “Friendship”, and “All Through The Night”. (One Broadway Plaza, Elmsford; www.broadwaytheatre.com)
The Taming of the Shrew,Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Boscobel – Thurs, 6/7 – Fri, 8/24: check dates & times: With its breathtaking views of the Hudson River, Boscobel provides a world-class setting for summer Shakespeare and picnicking. Here their a critically acclaimed troupe, takes on William Shakespeare’s comedy about the shrewish Kate, her sister Bianca and Petruchio the gold-digger. Bianca would be an easy match for Petruchio but Dad, the wealthiest man in Padua has ordained that Kate must marry first! Good luck Petruchio.(Boscobel, 1601 Rt. 9D, Garrison; www.hvsf.org)
ALL AGES! The Heart of Robin Hood, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Boscobel – Fri, 6/8 – Sat, 8/25: check dates & times: HVSF takes on David Farr’s reimagined adaptation of Robin Hood, commissioned in 2011 by The Royal Shakespeare Company. In Farr’s telling, Maid Marion bands with Robin Hood to escape an impending marriage to Prince John and his evil plan to betray the king. Only to discover a roguish band of hoods whose pilfering of the wealth never quite makes it to the poor. Marion has some work to do on the heart of Robin before she can save the kingdom. (Boscobel, 1601 Rt. 9D, Garrison; www.hvsf.org)
Richard II, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Boscobel – Sat, 6/9 – Sun, 8/26: check dates & times: Here Artistic Director Davis McCallum assembles a huge cast of HVSF’s finest for their first ever production of Shakespeare’s historic drama of the absolute ruler Richard and how he splits his kingdom in two by banishing his cousins Henry Bolingbroke. (Boscobel, 1601 Rt. 9D, Garrison; www.hvsf.org)
Free! Twelfth Night, Shakespeare in the Park, Delacorte Theatre – Tues, 7/17 – Sun, 8/19: 8pm: Free Shakespeare in the Park presents a re-imagining of Public Works’ 2016 musical adaptation of Twelfth Night for a full five-week run in Central Park. Featuring music and lyrics by critically-acclaimed songwriter Shaina Taub.(Delacorte Theatre in Central Park; www.publictheatre.org)
Hot Ticket Alert
An Evening With Groucho, Paramount Hudson Valley – Sun, 9/9: 7pm: Award-winning actor and Director Frank Ferrante recreates his PBS, New York and London acclaimed portrayal of Groucho Marx in this 9o minute two-act comedy. The show draws in the likes of Charley Chaplin, WC Fields, Margaret Dumont, Louis B. Mayer and his brothers. It includes some of his best one-liners, anecdotes and songs including “Hooray for Captain Spalding” and “Lydia, the Tattooed Lady”. (1008 Brown St., Peekskill; www.paramounthudsonvalley.com)
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