Arts & Entertainment
Local Theater Celebrates 35 Years of Success
The Penguin Rep Theater in Stony Point continues to bring quality theater to Rockland after 35 years.
Tucked in the hills of Stony Point sits a quaint and unassuming barn. For the last 35 years this modest spot has been the home of the Penguin Rep Theater, a year-round nonprofit, professional Equity theatre company.
Last month the company celebrated the success of the last 35 of exciting local theater with a birthday dinner on July 23. The party celebrated the many successful seasons of the Penguin Rep. This year's 35th season has included The Hounds of Baskervilles and The Last Days of Mickey and Jean.
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This month the Penguin Rep Theater is putting on Don’t Talk to the Actors, a comedy by Tom Dudzick. First performed in 2007, the play provides a behind the scenes look into the unpredictable world of bringing a Broadway play to life.
“It is a very smart and well thought out play," said Wilbur Edwin Henry, who plays levelheaded director Mike in the production.
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The production featured well-seasoned actors Beth Fowler and Richard Kline, as well as some new faces to the Penguin Rep Theater stage.
In her Penguin debut Alexandra Turshen played Arlene, a naïve young woman who has left her comfortable life in Buffalo to follow her playwright fiancé’s dreams of making in on Broadway.
“I was welcomed into this family,” Turshen said. ”They are wonderful here. They invite good people and good people come to act. This place isn’t going anywhere.”
“It is such an honor to be here, for the 35th anniversary,” said David Arkema, who played the up-and-coming playwright Jerry in the production. “It’s a testament to the people who keep coming back to the theater.”
“Their efforts are quite miraculous,” added Henry. “I hope they have another 35 more years to come.”
Catch the remaining performances of Don’t Talk to the Actors this month. The play runs until Aug. 26, with shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays and 2 p.m. matinee performances on Saturday and Sundays. Tickets are $39 and can be purchased at www.penguinrep.com or at the Penguin Rep Theater, located at 7 Cricketown Rd, Stony Point.