The Village Players of Hatboro Opens 76th Season With THE TELL-TALE FARCE

On Friday, September 8, The Village Players of Hatboro (VPH) will kick off its 76th Season will The Tell-Tale Farce by Don Zolidis, a freewheeling, door-slamming farce with a touch of the macabre. The curtain rises at 8:00 p.m. for a three-week run.

The Tell-Tale Farce is set in 1848. Edgar Allan Poe is just coming off the spectacular success of “The Raven.” Unfortunately, it’s only earned him a grand total of nine dollars. So, when a wealthy dowager commissions him to write her a poem for the vast sum of one hundred dollars, he leaps at the chance. Only problem: the man who shows up to write the poem isn’t Poe, he’s Poe’s mailman, and he’s on a quest to woo the dowager’s spinster niece. Playing Poe is harder than it looks, though, especially when your mustache keeps falling off, the teenage grand-daughter of the house is lusting after you, and Poe’s arch-nemesis, Rufus Griswold, just happens to be dropping by to settle old scores.

                “Zolidis’ witty reimagining of [Edgar Allen] Poe’s work allowed us to delve into the realm of absurdity and explore the interplay between horror and humor,” said the show’s director Steve J. Niles. “Our dedicated cast and crew embraced the challenge of merging these seemingly contradictory elements, resulting in a production that I’m confident will leave audiences both unsettled and in stitches.”

            The production features a large cast of area actors: Chris Mazza, Nick Pinault, Julianna Gardner, Regina Deavitt, Chris DeWitt, Kashfara Saba, Leah O’Hara, Tim Schumann, Tom Libonate, and Erin Baeder.

            Besides Niles, the show’s crew consists of producer Ashley Lora-Lee, assistant directors Ryan Kemp and Kira Stein, artistic designer Jeff Froelich, and Michael Shepherd as running crew.

            The Tell-Tale Farce runs September 8,9  15,16  22,23 at 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. There will be two 2:00 p.m. Sunday matinees on September 10 and 17. Tickets are $20 for adults and $17 for groups of 10 and over.

            Reservations can be made online at thevillageplayers.com or by calling the box office at (215) 675-6774.           
            The Village Players of Hatboro (VPH) is a non-Equity theatre company located at 401 Jefferson Ave., Hatboro, PA 19040