THE ARTIFICIAL JUNGLE Opens Tonight at Town Players

Summer may be ending, but Town Players keeps the mood light and fun with its production THE ARTIFICIAL JUNGLE by Charles Ludlam, opening tonight, September 5.

A zany, comedic spoof of film noir classics such as "The Postman Always Rings Twice" and "Double Indemnity," THE ARTIFICIAL JUNGLE focuses on bored, beautiful housewife Roxanne Nurdiger (Olivia Carr, Southbury), who is tired of tending to non-talking parrots and piranhas in the pet shop she runs with her greedy husband Chester (Timothy Huebenthal, Southbury). Enter the dubious Zachary Slade (Brian DeToma, Danbury), who upon responding to the "help wanted" sign in the window, manages to insinuate himself into the family and into Roxanne's heart. The two of them decide to bump off Chester and cash in on the insurance. Unfortunately for them, Chester proves difficult to dispose of, and with his cop pal Frankie Spinelli (Ron Malyszka, Bridgewater) constantly nosing around and Mother Nurdiger's (Laurel Lettieri, Norwalk) antics, things don't go quite the way they planned.

According to The New York Times, "The more [Chester] battles piranhas and human villains to survive, the more the audience is likely to die laughing."

Directed by Gene Golaszewski of Brookfield, THE ARTIFICIAL JUNGLE also features the talents of Rosemary Howard of Millvale. The production crew includes producers Lynn Alexander of Southbury and Tracy Nashel of Newtown, stage manager Georgie Kobylanski of Bethel, set builder Timothy Huebenthal, and light and sound designer Nick Kaye of Bethel.

THE ARTIFICIAL JUNGLE runs September 5 - 27. Curtain times are 8 PM Fridays and Saturdays, with 2 PM matinees on September 14 & 21. There will be a champagne reception after the show on opening night as Town Players helps to kick off the 2014 Newtown Arts Festival.

Tickets are $20; $15 for matinee performances.

Reservations may be made by calling the box office at 203-270-9144 or by sending an email to reservations@newtownplayers.org. For further information, visit www.newtownplayers.org or email info@newtownplayers.org.