Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre Celebrates its 45th Season

Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre invites you to "get out of the heat and into a seat" to celebrate its 45th season in residence at CCBC Essex. This summer's series includes "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Forever Plaid," "Sister Act," and "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike." Cockpit performances are held in the Robert and Eleanor Romadka College Center at CCBC Essex, 7201 Rossville Blvd. Subscriptions and individual tickets are available from the CCBC Box Office at 443-840-2787 (ARTS) or online at www.ccbcmd.edu/cockpit.

Cockpit kicks off its Mainstage season with a classic comedy - "Arsenic and Old Lace," directed by Cockpit's first Artistic Director -- F. Scott Black. This play is a romp! Mortimer Brewster is about to be married and wants his fiancée to meet the family, but he is feeling a bit anxious about introducing her to his slightly crazy relatives. His one brother thinks he is Teddy Roosevelt. Unfortunately, Mortimer does not know the half of it. When he visits his dear elderly aunts, he discovers that they have been poisoning lonely, old men for years!! To make things worse, his maniacal brother Jonathan arrives on the scene to complicate matters just when Mortimer is trying to get his aunts and brother committed. You will laugh until you hurt at this wonderful Joseph Kesselring comedy.

"Arsenic and Old Lace" runs June 9 through June 25 on Thursday (June 22 only), Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and on Sundays at 3 p.m. on the Mainstage. Tickets are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors (60+) and $14 for children (12 years and under).

"Forever Plaid," a quintessential musical homage to the 'guy-groups" of the 1950s. This quartet of high-school chums return from the afterlife for one final gig in this goofy, nostalgia-filled trip. Remember or discover some wonderful songs from the past, such as "Three Coins in the Fountain," "Moments to Remember," "Cry," "Crazy 'Bout Ya Baby," "Sixteen Tons," "Chain Gang," "Love is a Many Splendored Thing" and many more.

Directed by Cockpit's current Artistic Director James Hunnicutt, "Forever Plaid" runs June 10 through June 25 in the Cabaret Theatre on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Tickets are $17 for adults and $15 for seniors (60+).

Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre's 45th season continues with "Sister Act" on the Mainstage, directed by Tom Wyatt, July 21 - Aug. 6 and "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," 2013 Tony Award Best Play, directed by Linda Chambers, in the Cabaret Theatre, July 22 - Aug. 6.

The Court Jesters Young People's Theatre production of "Madagascar, Jr.," based on the Dreamworks Animation Motion Picture and directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt, will run July 7 through 16 in the Administration Building Lecture Hall on the Essex campus. All tickets are $10. Call the Box Office at 443-840-2787 (ARTS) for times and tickets.

All performance venues are air-conditioned and fully accessible. Listening assistance devices are available upon request and audio description for the visually impaired is available at select performances. Please request any of these accommodations from the Box Office at 443-840-2787 (ARTS) in advance.