Photo Courtesy of Lisa Gaven - Gavan Photo

Ann Arbor MI

Ann Arbor Civic Theatre is proud to present Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, directed by Glenn Bugala, September 6-9, 2018, at UM’s Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109. Performances are Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, with a 2pm matinee on Sunday. Tickets are $28, with tickets at $25 for seniors and $15 for students. On Thursday, tickets remaining when the box office opens at 6:45 will be pay-what-you-can. Tickets and information are available online at www.a2ct.org, through the A2CT office at 734-971-2228, or in limited quantities at the door of the theater before each performance. The show is recommended for mature audiences.

Based on the 1988 Steve Martin-Michael Caine comedy film of the same name, this original Broadway musical starred John Lithgow and Joanna Gleason and ran nearly two years. The role of the Steve Martin character won Norbert Leo Butz a Tony award. The book is by Jeffrey Lane, and the music and lyrics are written by the Tony-award-winning composer of The Band’s Visit, David Yazbek.

This hysterical musical comedy has a delightfully jazzy score that lets audiences tag along to the French Riviera to see what happens when two lifelong con men from different milieu realize one small French town isn’t big enough for the both of them. A wager about who can be the first to swindle $50,000 from an American heiress leads to a game of con artistry one-upmanship that will keep you laughing the whole way through.

The A2CT production is primarily being developed by the actors and directors together, through the use of improvisation and theatre games. The cast and crew are a combination of long-time Civic volunteers and new ones. Glenn Bugala has directed five dramas in the past seven years and was bound and determined to direct a comedy this time. “We can all use some comedy these days,” he said.

Music direction for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels is by Joseph D. Daniel, with choreography by Rachel Francisco. The brilliant cast includes Timothy Ziegler as Lawrence, Dominic Seipenko as Freddy, Hannah Sparrow as Christine, Rob Roy as Andre, Zoe Van Slooten as Jolene and Jessica Terlep as Muriel, with a stellar ensemble including Emily Courcy, Brittany Davenport, Grace Davis, Lily Gechter, Kendra Holt. Matt Praschan, John Tramp, Eric Van Wasshnova, and Kris Wright.