Town Players of Newtown will kick off their 2017 season with Exit The Body, a farce by Fred Carmichael, on Friday, May 12. Performances are at The Little Theatre, 18 Orchard Hill Road.

First presented at Dorset (Vt.) Playhouse on August 31, 1961, and directed by the playwright himself, Exit The Body follows the tale of mystery novelist Crane Hammond who, looking for some peace and quiet away from the big city, rents a cottage in New England. Unfortunately, the cottage also happens to be the rendezvous point for a gang of jewel thieves.

While husbands get mixed up and there is a seemingly endless parade of intruders, a body is found in the closet. Body number one disappears only to be replaced by body number two.

Events reach a climax at two in the morning when four couples who are strangers to each other turn up to search for the jewels.

Directed by Gene Golaszewski of Brookfield, The Town Players production will feature the talents of Shawn Brown of Danbury, Jeffry Bukowski of Shelton, Deborah Burke of Stamford, Brooke Cassalia of Monroe, Barbara Disraeli of Brewster, N.Y., Timothy Huber of Danbury, Kathleen Kryspin of Brookfield, Ron Malyszka of Bridgewater, Kimberly Marcus of Danbury, and Mark Rubino of Bethel.

The production crew includes co-producers Lynn Alexander of Southbury and Tracy Nashel of Newtown, stage manager Mark Rubino of Bethel, set designer Timothy Huebenthal of Southbury, and lighting designer Nick Kaye of Bethel.

Performances will run May 12-June 3. Curtain times are 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 pm matinees on Sundays, May 21 and 28. This production will also offer a special Thursday evening performance on Thursday, June 1, at 8 pm.

Tickets for all evening shows are $22, and matinee tickets are $18.

Reservations may be made by visiting newtownplayers.org or by calling the box office at 203-270-9144.

Town Players of Newtown is a community theater, currently in its 82nd season.

Auditions For 'The Veil' Announced

Town Players have already announced auditions for Conor McPherson's

The Veil,  which will be the second production of the local theater's 2017 season.

Auditions will take place Sunday and Monday, May 21-22, 7:30-9 pm each evening.

The time is May 1822; the place, rural Ireland. The recently defrocked Reverend Berkeley arrives at the formerly grand Mount Prospect House to act as a traveling companion to 17-year-old Hannah, who is to be married off to an English marquis in order to resolve the debts of her mother's estate.

Upon his arrival, Berkeley is compelled by the strange voices that haunt the young woman. This, combined with his fascination with the psychic current that permeates the house, leads Berkeley to propose a séance, and the consequences are disastrous.

In

The Veil, the playwright weaves Ireland's troubled colonial history into a mesmerizing tale about the search for love, the transcendental, and the circuitousness of time.

Ruth Anne Baumgartner of Fairfield will direct.

The production calls for three men and five women. If possible, actors should read the play in advance and be ready to read sides from the script. All roles are available.

Town Players does not loan out copies of the script, but character descriptions are available at newtownplayers.org.

Rehearsals are scheduled to begin in late May/early June, and the production runs Friday and Saturday evenings, July 14-August 5, with one Thursday evening performance and two Sunday matinees.

Auditions will take place at The Little Theatre. All questions may be directed to

info@newtownplayers.org.

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