DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS Begins Performances At The Stratford Festival

Prepare for the Avon Theatre to be transformed into the glamourous French Riviera as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels hits the stage tomorrow offering huge laughs and high energy.

This playful and irreverent production unites Director Tracey Flye, Choreographer Stephanie Graham and Music Director Franklin Brasz.

It showcases exhilarating performances by Shakura Dickson as Christine Colgate, Jonathan Goad as Lawrence Jameson, Liam Tobin as Freddy Benson, Sara-Jeanne Hosie as Muriel Eubanks, Derek Kwan as Andre Thibault, and Michele Shuster as Jolene Oakes.

Lawrence Jameson is no stranger to the high life–he's lived it for years by separating lonely rich ladies from their fortunes in a swanky Riviera town. When he and his chief competitor in the con business, Freddy Benson, make a bet to swindle an heiress out of $50,000, the professional scoundrels soon discover they may not always be the smartest people in the room. Inspired by the hit 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, the musical comedy earned 11 Tony Award nominations for its hilarious hijinks and frivolity.

“It may appear, and appearances can be deceiving, that this world could be a wholly distasteful place. But I beg to differ,” says Flye. “It is, in total, a whirlwind of mayhem and confusion, of vulgarity versus sophistication, of discovery and choice, of longing and love and unexpected revelation. It's really not much different from the one we live in. And while each character we meet appears to be masked–guarding who they truly are–in each of them, there is an untapped humanity, a loneliness and longing for something else.”

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels features magnificent performances by Eric Abel, Carla Bennett, Devon Michael Brown, Jarret Cody, Christine Desjardins, Henry Firmston, Jordan Goodridge, Aisha Jarvis, Bonnie Jordan, Alex Kelly, Heather Kosik, Kelsey Lacombe, Amanda Lundgren, Gracie Mack, Jordan Mah, Jamie Murray, Stephen Patterson, Ali Powell and Jason Sermonia.