Carol's Return to TV

Greetings Fans,
As I reported back in August, Carol had worked background on several episodes of The Beast, the new A&E drama starring Patrick Swayze. The Beast airs on Thursday nights at 9pm on A&E, and last Thursday was episode three which marks Carol's return to television!

Not since season one of Prison Break have we seen Carol's face on TV (and truth be told, we can't really see her face this time either). In this episode, we spotted Carol in two different scenes. The first is at 11:31 into the episode, Carol and a friend are walking past the door just as Patrick enters a Romanian bar. Carol is backlit and her face is in shadow, but we are certain that is her on the left. She walks out of frame just as Patrick enters the bar.

Carol (left) and a friend in the Romanian bar

Later in the episode, at 36:34, we see Carol (and the same friend-- they really get around) walking down a sidewalk. We see her twice in this scene, through the windshield in the shots with Nadia looking out the window. Carol is wearing her fabulous purple raincoat, which was unusual for background wardrobe.

Carol in purple raincoat, stumbling home from the Romanian bar

We can look for Carol again in next week's episode. She is reportedly in a scene near "The Bean", and possibly walking outside the Cultural Center. Later this season, in episode seven, you can look for both Carol and I, and my car. Stay tuned for details...

Key For Two - Opening Night!

Greetings Fans!
Tonight is opening night for Key For Two at the Riverfront Playhouse. I had the pleasure of seeing the show last night at their final rehearsal, and I thought it was excellent! As with all British farces, the show is an escalating stream of fast-paced and hilariously embarrassing situations. In a change from her previous two roles, Carol plays the straight part (get it?) in this show.

If you suffer from schadenfreude and are in need of a few laughs (and in this economy, who isn't!), then this is the show for you! If you are a philanderer and are in need of new material, this is the show for you! If you enjoy seeing women in various stages of undress, this is definitely the show for you! If you're a depressed social misfit who hates comedy, an uptight repressed vegan with an aversion to fur, or a prude... then perhaps you should just stay home.

Tickets for KEY FOR TWO are $15 for adults, and $12 for students and seniors. Some of the subject matter may be considered inappropriate for children, so The Riverfront would like to discourage anyone under the age of 12. Reservations are available by calling the playhouse at (630) 897-9496.

See you at the show!

Key ... Not Tea

... Press Release, as posted on the Riverfront Playhouse web site ...

The Riverfront Playhouse at 11-13 South Water Street Mall in downtown Aurora will present KEY FOR TWO, a British Bedroom Farce by John Chapman and Dave Freeman beginning Friday, January 23, 2009 at 8pm and continuing Friday and Saturday nights through February 28, 2009.

Under the direction of Jack and Jackson Schultz, KEY FOR TWO tells the story of Harriet, a proper English lady who just happens to make her living by entertaining two married men, Gordon and Alec, who know nothing about each other. She is aided in her deceit by split-second timing and her imaginary overly-religious yet alcoholic mother who wouldn't approve of such arrangements. When Harriet’s best friend, Anne, shows up to escape her husband, Richard, things take a turn for the hilarious when Alec and Gordon threaten to occupy the same bedroom at the same time as Richard arrives to reclaim Anne, and the wives of Alec and Gordon trace their husband's whereabouts to Harriet's house. Suddenly the house turns into a hospital that treats everything from broken bones to dislocated backs to delusional philanderers to the highly dreaded disease known as “polygamous palsy.”

KEY FOR TWO features the talents of Kristen Duerdoth as Harriet, Connie Pfister as Anne, Steve Fiorito as Gordon, Chris Dillman as Alec, Bob Becker as Richard, Carol Townsend as Magda, and Vicki White as Mildred.

The Riverfront Playhouse has earned a reputation for their presentation of British Sex Farces. With mistaken identities, split second entrances and exits, broad slapstick humor, and the British penchant for retaining the utmost dignity in the most undignified circumstances, KEY FOR TWO promises to keep the playhouse’s reputation spotless.

This play also marks the return of Jack Schultz to the director’s chair. Along with his son, Jackson, he has assembled a cast that is razor sharp in portraying the timing and absurdity required of British Farces. Says Jackson, “This play has been such a pleasure to rehearse, I almost hate to see it open since it means the nightly fun is going to come to an end. We’ve put together what seems to be a perfect mixture of familiar faces with new talent, and the result has been sheer joy to see develop.”

Tickets for KEY FOR TWO are $15 for adults, and $12 for students and seniors. Some of the subject matter may be considered inappropriate for children, so The Riverfront would like to discourage anyone under the age of 12. Reservations are available by calling the playhouse at (630) 897-9496.

New Year, and a New Play

Happy New Year, fans!
I hope everyone had an enjoyable and relaxing holiday, and here's to a prosperous 2009! To start out the new year, Carol will be starting with a new play, Key for Two, by John Chapman and Dave Freeman.

In this wickedly amusing play, by two master craftsmen of comedy, Harriet, a divorcee living in an elegant flat in Brighton, solves her financial problems by entertaining two married gentlemen callers on different days of the week. The scheme faces collapse when her friend Anne, whose marriage is tottering, arrives at the flat hotly pursued by her husband. One of Harriet’s lovers is confined to her bed with a sprained ankle and the second lover turns up unexpectedly, closely followed by two irate wives in search of their itinerant husbands. The indescribable confusion that ensues builds to a rich complexity of mistaken identity, splendidly farcical situations and a climax of comic wizardry.(1)

Key for Two will be opening on January 23rd at the Riverfront Playhouse in Aurora. We do not have all the particulars as of yet, except that Carol will be playing the part of Magda, one of the irate wives, and the show will be Fridays and Saturdays, January 23rd - February 28th. Stay tuned for further details...