Jake Sessock as Lawrence, Joelle Witner as Christine and Phil Kaufman as Freddy in the PTPA production of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
PTPA presents “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” Jan. 14, 20, 21, 28, 7 p.m.; Jan. 15, 22, 29, 3 p.m., J. J. Ferrara Center (212 W. Broad St., Hazleton). Show tickets: $16 adults, $14 seniors/students, $10 children. Dinner/show: $32 adults, $28 seniors/students, $20 children. Info: 570.454.5451, ptpashows.org.
Hazleton’s Pennsylvania Theatre of Performing Arts is kicking off its season and 2012 with the musical comedy “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” starting Saturday, Jan. 14. Based on the 1988 comedy starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, the movie was adapted to the Broadway stage in 2005, and audiences have been laughing ever since.
“It’s something really funny to start the year,” said Artistic Director Mike Marone. “It allows audiences to come and forget their terrors for a few hours. It helps that the whole show is set in coastal France, so you’ll forget it’s winter.”
Whether you had a chance to see the movie or not, the hilarious plot translates to the stage perfectly, and Marone is thrilled to be presenting what he says is a very well-written show, as it has the same writers as “The Full Monty,” another favorite of his.
“There is lots of funny stuff there,” Marone said. “It has, from beginning to end, laughs. The first joke is cracked within the first minute of the show, right until the last minute.”
The show revolves around two con artists; one is English (Lawrence), one American (Freddy). Freddy sees Lawrence performing a con on a woman and notices how much better at it he is. Freddy decides he is going to blackmail him, threatening to go to the police if Lawrence doesn’t show him his ways.
“The title isn’t as well-known as a lot of other shows, but it is equally as well-written and enjoyable for audience members despite its mysterious title,” explained Marone. “We don’t want people to not be interested because they may not know that name — they won’t be disappointed.”
With a cast of 16 and the need to portray 17 locations that the show takes its audience to all on one stage, it was certainly a challenge when designing the set.
“The set pieces are enormous,” said Marone. “It has everything from the French coastline to hotels and dungeons, mansions and everything in between. There are a lot of moving pieces; we have a 14-foot rotating turntable on stage. It actually rotates as the show is being performed to reveal new locations.”
For Marone, who has been working in theater for 12 years, what really makes the production are the people involved.
“Being able to work with such talented people is amazing,” said Marone. “A lot of people think you have to go to New York City to see a quality production, and you don’t have to, there are quality actors in this area.
“We’ve had a lot of regulars who have been here and are learning new things with this show, tap dancing for instance, and some that are brand new and great. Seeing them find a new skill set is rewarding for me.”
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