‘Wives and Daughters’ by Elizabeth Gaskell presented by The Online Stage.

‘Wives and Daughters’ follows the daily life of a widowed county doctor, Mr. Gibson, and his daughter, Molly. During our time with the Gibsons, Mr. Gibson decides to marry a woman who has a daughter near Molly’s age, Cynthia. Molly and Cynthia grow up together, fall in love, and spend their days with the many characters in Hollingford.

Cast:

Narrator – Sybil Johnson

Mr. Gibson – Rob Goll

Molly Gibson – Anna Grace

Mrs. Kirkpatrick – Elizabeth Klett

Cynthia – Amanda Friday

Squire Hamley – Jeff Moon

Mrs. Hamley – Sara Sheckells

Roger Hamley – Tyler Hyrchuk

Osborne Hamley – Lance Rasmussen

Lord Cumnor – Graham Scott

Lady Cumnor – Lillian Rachel

Lady Cuxhaven – Shaina Summerville

Lady Agnes – Grace Keller Scotch

Lady Harriet – Leanne Yau

Lord Hollingford – Kyle Alan

Mr. Preston – Andy Harrington

Mrs. Goodenough – Sara Morsey

Miss Phoebe – Trisha Rose

Mrs. Parkes – Sarah Mitchell

Old Silas – Josh Innerst

Aimee – Tiffany Halla Colonna

Grandchild – Isabelle Friday

Audible/Amazon

The Little Women Collection by Louisa May Alcott presented by The Online Stage.

This collection includes the remastered Online Stage productions of Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys as well as Comic Tragedies by Jo & Meg.

Little Women is the story of four sisters growing up against the background of the American Civil War. Alcott wrote the book at the urging of the publisher, Thomas Niles, who was seeking a story about girls that would have popular appeal. Although it was commenced essentially as a children’s book, it developed into something of a bildungsroman, which touches on more serious issues such as the difficulties faced by single-parent families, the death of a sibling, and fractured relationships.

Little Men tells the continuing story of Jo March, who has married Professor Bhaer, with whom she now runs a small school.

In Jo’s Boys, we revisit the Plumfield clan 10 years later, all grown up and finding their way through life’s adventures and misadventures. Simmering romances blossom for some while the bravery and strength of others are tested. Through it all, Jo and Professor Bhaer desperately hope they have done their duty in raising up good citizens of the world with dreams, passions, empathy, and intelligence. Alcott shines once again with her ability to write human emotion through real-world scenarios that are still relevant today.

Comic Tragedies by Jo & Meg is a collection of plays written by Jo and Meg March, often discussed and performed in the March family attic by the beloved Little Women as the Pickwick Players. Our cast returns as Jo, Meg, Amy, and Beth to perform every role with dramatic flair from damsels in distress to evil villains, and no shortage of mistaken identities and sword fights.

Cast:

Narrators—Lee Ann Howlett and Erin Grassie

Jo—Amanda Friday

Meg—P. J. Morgan

Beth—Tiffany Halla Colonna

Amy—Becca Maggie and Anna Grace

Laurie—Andy Harrington

Professor Bhaer—Ben Lindsey-Clark

Various other roles performed by Elizabeth Klett, Ron Altman, Ben Stevens, Nancy German, Maureen Boutilier, Jeff Moon, Jennifer Fournier, Miranda Hodges, Izzy Lindsey-Clark, Rebecca Thomas, Brett Downey, Sarah Pignatello, Chris Marcellus, Leanne Yau, Cate Barratt, Libby Stephenson, Marty Krz, David Prickett, Arielle Lipshaw, Ted Wenskus, Tomas Peter, Anastasia Durning, Josh Innerst, Tim Sailer, Sydnee Fullmer, Lance Rasmussen, Tyler Hyrchuk, Max Gallo, Anna Grace, Jennie VanderLugt, and Trisha Rose.

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

As the curtain falls on the March family’s tale, we revisit the Plumfield clan 10 years later, all grown up and finding their way through life’s adventures and misadventures.  

Simmering romances blossom for some while the bravery and strength of others are tested. Through it all, Jo and Professor Bhaer desperately hope they have done their duty in raising up good citizens of the world with dreams, passions, empathy, and intelligence. 

Alcott shines once again with her ability to write human emotion through real-world scenarios that are still relevant today.

Cast:

Narrator – Lee Ann Howlett

Jo – Amanda Friday

Dan – Josh Innerst

Ted – Tim Sailer

Josie – Sydnee Fullmer

Demi – Lance Rasmussen

Professor Bhaer – Ben Lindsey-Clark

Meg – P. J. Morgan

Nan – Leanne Yau

Laurie/Nat – Andy Harrington

Rob – Tyler Hyrchuk

Daisy – Tiffany Halla Colonna

George – Tomas Peter

Adolphus – Max Gallo

Amy – Anna Grace

Tom – Ted Wenskus

Emil – Jeff Moon

Frau Tetzel – Elizabeth Klett

Ann – Jennie VanderLugt

Mr. March – Ben Stevens

Mrs. Hardy – Trisha Rose

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Mark Ablett is hosting all his friends at his English country house when he receives a letter from his estranged brother, Robert, announcing Robert’s intention to arrive from Australia. Not long after his arrival, Robert turns up dead, his body found with a bullet wound to the head, and Mark is nowhere to be seen. Antony Gillingham and his friend, Bill Beverly, play Sherlock Holmes & Doctor Watson to solve this whodunnit mystery. This is Milne’s only mystery novel.

Cast:

Narrator – Elizabeth Klett

Antony Gillingham – Andy Harrington

Bill Beverly – Tyler Hyrchuk

Matthew Cayley – Josh Innerst

Mrs. Stevens – Liz Blackett

Audrey Stevens – Amber Hegarty

Elsie – Amanda Friday

Robert Ablett – Ben Lindsey-Clark

Major Rumbolt – Ron Altman

Betty Calladine – Ella Lynch

Ruth Norris – Lillian Rachel

Mark Ablett – Graham Scott

Old Gillingham – Alan Weyman

Landlady – Jennie VanderLugt

Landlord – Marty Krz

Mrs. Calladine – Sara Sheckells

Inspector Birch – Rob Goll

Parlour Maid – Sydnee Fullmer

Kitchen Maid – Leanne Yau

Angela Norbury – Anna Grace

Mrs. Norbury – Danielle Cohen

Andrew Amos – Andrew Coleman

Parsons – David Stifel

Coroner – Jeff Moon

John Borden – Lance Rasmussen

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

The Online Stage presents The Green Cockatoo by Arthur Schnitzler.

The Green Cockatoo is a short play set in a busy tavern on the night of the storming of the Bastille. Rich Parisian nobles come to watch some actors play at being rogues, thieves, and other criminals, but they quickly find reality and fantasy blending together in the most alarming of ways.

Cast:

Stage Directions – Linda Barrans

Prosper – Phil Benson

Emile – Tomas Peter

François – Tom Saer

Albin – Mark Crowle-Groves

Marquis de Lansac – Alan Weyman

Severine – Sarah Mitchell

Rollin – Lance Rasmussen

Grasset – David Prickett

Lebret – Peter Tucker

Grain – Blythe Melin

The Commissaire of Police – Craig Franklin

Henri – Andy Harrington

Leocadie – P. J. Morgan

Scaevola – David Stifel

Jules – Andrew Coleman

Michette –  Anna Grace

Flipotte – Amanda Friday

Guillaume – Graham Scott

Georgette – Leanne Yau

Balthasar – Ted Wenskus

Maurice –  Noel Badrian

Etienne – Marty Krz

Audio edited by Anna Grace

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Presented by The Online Stage

The Noh theatre of Japan was popularized towards the end of the 14th century. It was heavily influenced by Buddhism in philosophy and style and was made up of dances performed at Shinto shrines to honor spirits and gods and old lyric poetry. Around the same time, Shakespeare’s Hamlet was being performed in London, Noh was integral to official ceremonies at Kyoto, and young nobles and princes were encouraged to attend and perform. This is a collection of four short plays from the Noh theatres of Japan – Hagoromo, Kumasaka, Kagekiyo, and Nishigiki.

Cast:

David Stifel

David Prickett

Grace Keller Scotch

Noel Badrian

Leanne Yau

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Back to Methuselah by George Bernard Shaw

Presented by The Online Stage

George Bernard Shaw embraced the concept of what he called creative evolution, which he saw as development generated by a perception of need, rather than evolution by the operation of the blind forces of natural selection.

In 1982, after having witnessed the horrors of the First World War, Shaw started work on Back to Methuselah, a large-scale presentation of the story of human development, starting from the Garden of Eden and extended far into the future. The first performance was held in New York in 1922. 

The five plays included are “In the Beginning”, “The Gospel of the Brothers Barnabus”, “The Thing Happens”, “Tragedy of an Elderly Gentleman”, and “As Far as Thought Can Reach”.

Cast:

Jennie VanderLugt
Andy Harrington
Leanne Yau
Anna Grace
Tyler Hyrchuk
Huw Brentnall
Lance Rasmussen
Sydnee Fullmer
Graham Scott
Shaina Summerville
John Burlinson
Denis Daly
Sara Morsey
Blythe Melin

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Performed by The Online Stage

This play is a fictionalized account of the life of William Shakespeare, beginning from his humble origins in Stratford-upon-Avon with his wife, Anne Hathaway, to his life as a successful playwright in London. This play uses several biographical speculations about Shakespeare’s life to tell a fascinating tale, such as his relationship with his wife (to whom he famously left his “second-best bed” in his will), his friendship with fellow playwright and competitor Christopher Marlowe, his interactions with Queen Elizabeth I, and even an extramarital dalliance with the queen’s maid of honor, the two-timing temptress Mary Fitton (who is speculated to be the “Dark Lady” to whom Shakespeare refers in his sonnets).

Clemence Dane is the nom de plume of Winifred Ashton, an English novelist, and playwright, who is best known for her novel Regiment of Women and once won an Academy Award for best story.

Cast:

Narrator – Anna Grace

William Shakespeare – Tom Saer

Anne Hathaway – Grace Garrett

Christopher Marlowe – Andy Harrington

Mary Fitton – Leanne Yau

Queen Elizabeth – Linda Barrans

Mrs. Hathaway – Sarah Mitchell

Henslowe – Alan Weyman

Child – Becca Maggie

Landlord – Graham Scott

Hawker – Craig Franklin

Drinking Man – Mark Crowle-Groves

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Exiles by James Joyce

Presented by The Online Stage

Exiles is the only play written by James Joyce. It draws material from “The Dead”, the final story in his famous short stories collection, Dubliners. It centers around four individuals – Richard, Robert, Bertha, and Beatrice – and the complex romantic entanglements between them as tensions rise and relationships are tested.

Cast:

Richard Rowan – Lance Rasmussen

Berta – Jo Palfi

Beatrice Justice – Elizabeth Klett

Robert Hand – Graham Scott

Brigid/Fisherwoman – Linda Barrans

Stage Directions/Archie – Leanne Yau

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Performed by The Online Stage

Set in Vienna at the turn of the 19th century, the romantic entanglements of four young individuals, Fritz, Theodor, Christine, and Mizi, offer a sharp social commentary and insight on the influence of personal and social morals on relationships.

Cast:

Theodor Kaiser: Tom Saer

Fritz Lobreimer: Lance Rasmussen

Christine: Sydnee Fullmer

Mizi Schlager: Leanne Yau

Theodor Kaiser: Tom Saer

Hans Weiring: Graham Scott

Katharina Binder: Danielle Cohen

A Gentleman: Tomas Peter

Servant/Lina: P. J. Morgan

Stage Directions: Christianne Lupher

Music by Marty Krz

Audio edited by Leanne Yau

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

Performed by The Online Stage 

A collection of one-acts by the Pulitzer-winning playwright, including Close the Book, Suppressed Desires, Tickless Time, Woman’s Honor, The People, and Trifles. 

Featuring the voices of Leanne Yau, Michelle Marie, Maureen Boutilier, Jennifer Fournier, Lee Ann Howlett, Ted Wenskus, Ken Foster, Amanda Friday, Larry Wilson, Alexa Sheppard, Marty Krz, Joseph Tabler, Ron Altman, Jeff Moon, Chris Marcellus, Mark Crowle-Groves, John Burlinson, Andy Harrington, and Denis Daly. 

Audio edited by Leanne Yau.

Amazon/Audible • iTunes

The Law and the Lady by Wilkie Collins

A full-cast production by The Online Stage.

Just days after the wedding of Valeria Brinton and Eustace Woodville, a series of strange incidents causes Valeria to believe her husband is hiding a dark secret. She discovers he has been living under a false name, and when questioned, Eustace refuses to discuss it. Upon further digging, Valeria finds Eustace had been on trial three years ago for the murder of his wife. However, the verdict had come down as the scotch verdict of not proven. This implied his guilt, but there was not enough evidence for a conviction nor did it exonerate him. Desperate to prove Eustace is innocent and to restore their newlywed bliss, Valeria stands strong in the face of adversity, meeting a very strange man named Miserrimus Dexter, who will be paramount in uncovering the truth.

Cast:

Valeria Macallan – Amanda Friday

Eustace Macallan – Tyler Hyrchuk

Old Benjamin – David Stifel

Sara Macallan – Danielle Cohen

Mrs. Macallan – Elizabeth Klett

Miserrimus Dexter – Rob Goll

Mr. Playmore – Graham Scott

Major Fitz-David – Jeff Moon

Ariel – Anna Grace

Miss Hoighty – Leanne Yau

Lady Brydehaven – Sarah Mitchell

Christina Ormsay – P. J. Morgan

Oliver – Alan Weyman

Doctor – Marty Krz

Mr. Gale – Andy Harrington

Various other roles played by members of the company.

Audio edited by Amanda Friday

Amazon/Audible • iTunes