SHEAR MADNESS Closes The 2017-2018 Season At Penobscot

Penobscot Theatre Company is delighted to produce the madcap comedy Shear Madness by Paul Pörtner to conclude its 44th Season. Performances will run June 14-July 8 at the historic Bangor Opera House.

This hysterical interactive murder-mystery farce has entertained more than 12 million people worldwide including more than 38 years of performances in Boston and 28 years at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Shear Madness has been voted "Best Comedy of the Year" eight times in Boston and "Best Play of the Year" in both Chicago and Philadelphia.

The madness erupts at a hairstyling salon when suddenly, between a shampoo and a style, the old lady upstairs gets mysteriously murdered and everyone's dying to know whodunit? Get ready to spot clues and question the suspects in the funniest mystery in the annals of fake crime. And the best part is it's different at every performance! This hilarious whodunit is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest-running play in the history of American theatre. It has earned the Raven Award from the Mystery Writers of America and been inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame, the first play ever to receive that accolade. Shear Madness has been produced around the world and translated into 23 foreign languages. Penobscot Theatre Company's production will be in English.

The company is thrilled to welcome former producing artistic director Scott R.C. Levy back to Bangor to direct this fast-paced romp. Taking a brief hiatus from the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, where he has been producing artistic director since 2011, Levy will lead an all-star cast including: Dominick Varney (AEA) as head stylist (and possible murderer) Tony Whitcomb; Amy Roeder (AEA) (Calendar Girls, Doctor Cerberus, August: Osage County), who worked with The Second City, the world's premier comedy theater and school of improvisation, before serving the company as director of education from 2014 through this spring; Tony Larkin of Atlanta, who made his Penobscot Theatre Company debut in It's a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; Brad LaBree (Ugly Lies the Bone, Escanaba in da Moonlight, Doctor Cerberus, Lumberjacks in Love and others); Alekzander Sayers (Oliver!, The Full Monty, Disney's Beauty and the Beast); and Michelle Weatherbee (The Full Monty, Disney's Beauty and the Beast).

"I'm thrilled to return to heart of Maine to share the madness magic," said Levy, who explained that the jokes change with every performance and the outcome depends on the feedback the cast receives from audience members. "Get ready, Bangorians, to comb through the clues and question the suspects like a bona fide Shearlock Holmes!" For tickets call 207-942-3333, buy online at www.penobscottheatre.org or visit the theatre in person at 131 Main Street, Bangor. Box office hours are Monday-Friday, noon to 5:00 pm, and up to three hours before performance times when shows are running.