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For more ACT II Playhouse information, check www.act2.org or call 215-654-0200
ACT II Playhouse is at 56 E. Butler Ave., Ambler.
It’s another busy season for ACT II Playhouse. The Ambler Theater kicked off its season with the unconventional “Which Reminds Me,” which runs through Oct. 1.
“The show is based on patron’s letters and responses over the years. “We did a show called “Electile Dysfunction” and it poked fun at (Donald) Trump and (Hilary) Clinton and nobody had an issue with that,” ACT II’s artistic director/ actor Tony Braithwaite said. “And I did an impression of Richard Nixon and someone screamed ‘this is liberal c---’ and four people walked out. “You can’t make this stuff up.”
The entertaining “Red Herring” is up next. The noir comedy, which opens Oct. 27, was originally produced at the Arden Theater in 2000. Braithwaite was part of the original cast.
“This is essentially a play about marriage,” Braithwaite said. “You look at marriage through the lens of this noir detective story.”
Bad Dates, which opens Dec. 12, is a one-woman show that appeared at the ACT II Playhouse in 2006. “It’s in the “Sex and the City” vein,” Braithwaite explained. “It’s about dating experiences and being a single woman. It’s candid and most important, funny.”
Braithwaite and Jen Childs will present “A Few of our Favorite Things,” which opens Jan. 6. It’s an evening of sketches with material drawn from such legendary tandems as Burns and Allen and Nichols and May. “We go from topic to topic,” Braithwaite said. “We go from ‘let’s pretend we’re married to let’s pretend we’re famous.’ It’s an unpredictable potpourri.”
When most theater fans think Neil Simon, such productions as “The Odd Couple,” “Sweet Charity” and “Barefoot in the Park” come to mind. But there are a number of other gems penned by Simon, such as “I Oughta Be in Pictures,” which hits the Act II Playhouse Feb. 27. “This is a great story,” Braithwaite said. “It’s about a guy , who is a slob, who is reunited with his daughter he abandoned in New York City as a baby. She comes looking for him and it’s a very funny and heartwarming story. Simon doesn’t get the credit for being such a great artist since he’s a populist.”
The season closes with the classic “Camelot,” which opens May 15. “We focus on the love triangle,” Braithwaite. “That’s front an center because it’s fascinating. We’re still doing all of the songs but we focus on the relationship. We have fun with that. When Julie Andrews starred in “Camelot,” she always wanted to have a lusty scene with Bob Goulet. But the take was, ‘not our Julie.’ She was always ticked off about that and I understand why. “Camelot “is still amazing. It’s a great way to cap the season.”