CAHOOTS

A comic mystery by Rick Johnston

Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm
January 13 through February 11, 2012

	CAHOOTS, an intriguing comic mystery by Rick Johnston, is the fifth show of the 18th Broadway Onstage Season when it opens on Friday, January 13. This fascinating production will run Friday and Saturday evenings at 8pm and Select Sundays at 2pm through Saturday, February 11.
Select Sunday Matinees are only performed at Broadway Onstage when a prearranged group of 30 or more is scheduled to attend. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 ½ Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe. The theatre is the home of the patented TeeVeeStage™ Presentation system, which employs cameras above the audience and monitors above the stage to provide audience members with different viewing perspectives of the live stage performance. Broadway Onstage Live Theatre is also the home of Dennis Wickline Productions, Inc., which began producing Non-Equity professional live theatre on the Eastside of Detroit in February of 1980.
	The setting of CAHOOTS is Ken and Jan's apartment in a Chicago high rise, where Jan and her friend Lois are setting up for a dinner party before attending a block association meeting on neighborhood crime-a subject that has become an obsession with Lois' husband, Al. In fact, just to show how vulnerable they all are, Al, impersonating a masked burglar, breaks into the apartment via the terrace while the ladies cower in fear. Before the evening is over our concerned citizens find themselves turned into expert, if accidental, criminals, as one of their victims is killed twice and several bodies are deftly disposed of from the terrace. Filled with witty dialogue and hilarious one-liners, the play manages to maintain a farcical unreality while demonstrating that things usually do get worse before they get better-and that the vaunted dangers of street crime can pale beside the outrageous mayhem that can ensue when four "good friends" get together for a quiet dinner.
The cast of CAHOOTS at Broadway Onstage is exceptional. Portraying Ken and Jan are Broadway Onstage favorites Joe Urkshus and CeCe Reuter Lesner. Mr. Urkshus was seen for many seasons as Hector in the Broadway Onstage Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS and Ms. Lesner appeared opposite him frequently as Dorothy in that production. Patrick Sharpe will be seen as Al. Mr. Sharpe just portrayed Eric Pinderson in THE CHRISTMAS CAROL CAPER, SCROOGE THIS! at Broadway Onstage. Newcomer to Broadway Onstage, Diana Turner, will be seen as Lois. Ms. Turner has been seen professionally at The Box Theatre in a variety of productions, including EVITA as Evita. John Arden McClure completes the cast as Grant, a Security Guard. Mr. McClure has been seen in a variety of productions at Broadway Onstage including Bean in the recent production of LOVE SONG. CAHOOTS is under the able direction of Shirley Biggs Urkshus, who has directed a number of productions at the theatre including last season's THE LAST GREAT BRITISH SEX FARCE EVER! Tickets for Opening Night Friday, January 13 are $14. Tickets for all other performances are $16. Group Rates and Performances are available. Again, Broadway Onstage is located at 21517 Kelly Rd. at Toepfer (8 1/2 Mile Rd.) in Eastpointe, Michigan. Ticket Reservations are recommended by calling (586) 771-6333.

JOE URKSHUS (Ken) - For many years Joe appeared as Hector in our Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. Joe was seen as Frank in our summer show LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS in 2009. He was seen as Herman in our spring 2009 comedy MIXED EMOTIONS. He was also seen as Dr. Chumley in HARVEY and Victor Fleming in MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS in the fall of 2008. Joe appeared as Edvard, the groom, in our summer 2006 production IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE and as Inspector John Smith in OVER MY DEAD BODY that same season. He appeared as D.W. DeWitt in our spring 2005 comedy EPIC PROPORTIONS. He also acted as Stage Manager for our season closer in 2005, THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST and stage managed THE LADIES OF HARMONY in the summer of 2008, and January 2009's ART OF MURDER. Joe appeared as Henry, a thoughtful philosophy professor, in our production of CLIFFHANGER several seasons ago. He also portrayed Jonathan Small in SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE CURSE OF THE SIGN OF FOUR several seasons ago. Joe appeared as Gary in our production of I HATE HAMLET in the fall of 2001 to great acclaim. He first appeared for us in 2000, as Father Mac and the Bingo Caller, in THE QUEEN OF BINGO. Joe has been seen in a number of local venues on a community and professional level. He was seen in NOISES OFF for Avon Players several seasons ago, and he was recently seen in the comedy MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON'S for RJO Productions. It's a pleasure to have him back with us again!
CECE LESNER (Jan) - CeCe was just seen as Lucretia Malvenia in MURDER ME, MURDER ME, MY DARLING, MY DARLING! She appeared as Bert in our season opener THE SOCIAL SECURITY MURDERS in 2010 and was seen as Bea in LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS in the summer of 2009. She was seen as Christine in our spring 2008 comedy MIXED EMOTIONS. She was seen as Maude in THE LADIES OF HARMONY several summers ago and originated the role of Dorothy in our Holiday Comedy THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. She was seen as Flavia in GIFT OF MURDER and as Irene Adler in SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET in 2008. She was also seen as Kandall in our summer 2006 production of IMPOSSIBLE MARRIAGE. CeCe portrayed Theresa in CHEATING CHEATERS, our 2004 summer production, and was seen as Ouiser in STEEL MAGNOLIAS here at Broadway Onstage several seasons ago. She has appeared in a number of other productions here at Broadway Onstage, including COME BACK TO THE FIVE AND DIME, JIMMY DEAN, JIMMY DEAN and BAREFOOT IN THE PARK, among others. She has also performed in other theaters in performances of LET'S MURDER MARSHA and THE CEMETERY CLUB. Thanks,CeCe. It's always a joy working with you!
DIANA TURNER (Lois) - While this is Diana's first appearance on our stage, she is a theatrical veteran with many professional credits on her resume. She has studied voice, acting, musical theatre, jazz, tap and ballet. She recently appeared at the Box Theatre in Mt. Clemens in EVITA as Evita Peron. She has been seen as Magenta in THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, Miss Hannigan in ANNIE, Julie in SHOWBOAT and Anita in WEST SIDE STORY just to name a few of the exciting and varied roles she has portrayed. She is also a Church Soloist and a member of the 12th Night Singers. She will be appearing for us again this coming spring in MOTHER SUPERIOR'S HABITS. She has been a joy to work with and we're honored to have her with us. Welcome, Diana!
PATRICK SHARPE (Al) - Patrick was just seen as Eric Pinderson in our Holiday Comedy THE CHRISTMAS CAROL CAPER, SCROOGE THIS! Patrick is an enormously talented gentleman with a wide variety of experiences. He is a talented singer, and was a member of the Macombers vocal troupe. He has appeared at Broadway Onstage on a number of occasions, including PIPPIN (in the title role), THE COCOANUTS and FOOTLIGHT FRENZY. He entered the Directing ranks, several seasons ago, by tackling a revival of the delightful musical BYE, BYE BIRDIE. Patrick also gave a memorable performance as Danny in our world premiere Black Comedy MOONLIGHT SERENADE several seasons ago, and was also seen in THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG that season. Patrick portrayed Sebastian in TWELFTH NIGHT for us in 2001. He was also seen as Cameron in our golf comedy THE FOURSOME in 2006. He is very active with Curtain Up! Theatre Company, and serves on their Board of Directors. We're truly honored to have him in our cast, and its a pleasure to be working with him again. Thanks, Patrick!
JOHN ARDEN MCCLURE (Grant) - John just gave a very memorable performance as Beane in LOVE SONG and Herb in THE CHRISTMAS CAROL CAPER, SCROOGE THIS! He was just stage managed THE SEX MANIAC this past summer and last spring's THE BROADWAY ONSTAGE MURDERS. He appeared as R.A.P. Blotkin in A MUSICAL SALUTE TO VAUDEVILLE AND BURLESQUE to close last season. He was seen as Professor S.F.X. Van Dusen in THE PROBLEM OF CELL 13 (which he also wrote), Sherlock Holmes in SHERLOCK HOLMES IS COMING TO DINNER, Sam in THE LAST GREAT BRITISH SEX FARCE EVER!, Warren in THE SOCIAL SECURITY MURDERS and Jeff in THE SCOTTISH PLAY here. He also portrayed Dirk in THE CRAZY TIME in the spring of 2010. John was seen as Richie in LOVERS AND OTHER STRANGERS and Mitch in MURDER AT THE HOWARD JOHNSON'S in 2009. He followed that by portraying Dr. Emrich in THE WEREWOLF OF THE FULL MOON. He took on the title roles in our closer in 2009 DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE to great acclaim. John was seen as Remnar in our 2007-2008 closer ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT and was seen in our fall 2008 production of HARVEY as Mr. Wilson. He portrayed CHUCK, one of the moving men, in MIXED EMOTIONS here three seasons ago. John was also seen as Inspector Davies in SOMETHING TO HIDE, and also in A THOUSAND CLOWNS in the fall of 2007. John's first appearance on our stage was in 2005 as Charley in THE BOOK OF MURDER. Since then he has been in numerous productions here, including Charles Wellington York in 2007's SHERLOCK'S VEILED SECRET and Dr. Zubritsky in FOOLS. He has also appeared as Benny in EPIC PROPORTIONS, Reverend Chasuble in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, Donnie in THE FOURSOME, Charlie Dugan in APRIL, MAE AND JUNE, and Mellersh Wilton in ENCHANTED APRIL. John is a theatrical veteran, having portrayed Ranger Tom in ESCANABA IN DA MOONLIGHT, Bozidar in DEAR SANTA, and Trent in THE LAST RESORT for Starbrite Dinner Theatre. He is also a member of Grosse Pointe Theatre, having portrayed Anthony Marston in TEN LITTLE INDIANS and Kenny Norman in PROPOSALS. We welcome him back to our stage.
SHIRLEY BIGGS-URKSHUS (Director) - Shirley is not only a talented director, but a talented actress as well. She was seen as EMMA in the SOCIAL SECURITY MURDERS in the Summer of 2010. She also directed our spring 2010 production THE CRAZY TIME and our fall 2010 production of THE LAST GREAT BRITISH SEX FARCE EVER! Shirley was also seen as Mrs. Chauvenet and Mrs. Chumley in HARVEY and Grace in THE LADIES OF HARMONY several seasons ago. She was also seen in the summer of 2007 as Sarah in our production RED HOT MAMAS. She portrayed Dora Winslow in our fall 2006 production OVER MY DEAD BODY. She directed 2008's ART OF MURDER and our season closing production THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST several seasons ago. She also appeared onstage as Lane/Merriman in that production. Shirley portrayed Polly in CLIFFHANGER here several seasons ago to great acclaim. She also has portrayed Elvira in our Holiday Production THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS all nine times. Shirley appeared in our production of I HATE HAMLET, in 2001, as Felicia. In addition, she appeared as Sis in 2000's production of THE QUEEN OF BINGO to everyone's delight. Shirley first appeared for us in our original murder-mystery THE THEATRE MURDERS aka THE DINNER THEATRE MURDERS as Mrs. Buldheiss/Olivia. Shirley has also directed for other companies, including such productions as STEPPIN' OUT, among others. Welcome back, Shirley!
DENNIS WICKLINE (Producer, Set Design) - Dennis was just seen as Olin in THE CHRISTMAS CAROL CAPER, SCROOGE THIS! Dennis portrayed Hector in THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS here in December of 2010. He portrayed Miles in our spring 2010 comedy THE CRAZY TIME as well as appearing as Ty in THE SCOTTISH PLAY to close our 2009-2010 Season. He portrayed David O'Selznick in MOONLIGHT AND MAGNOLIAS and Elwood P. Dowd in HARVEY in the fall of 2008. He was seen as Major Powell in CORPSE and Frank in WEEKEND COMEDY here in 2008. Dennis was also seen as Bradley in THE COCKTAIL HOUR in the fall of 2004, among other productions. He is the producer of all shows at Broadway Onstage. He began producing theatre in February of 1980 at Stouffer's Eastland. This season is his thirtieth of producing non-Equity professional theatre in the Detroit Metropolitan area. He is the author of a number of plays and musicals, including THE NUTCRACKER'S NUTS. He also appeared as Fagin in Grosse Pointe Theatre's 2001 production of OLIVER! and was seen as Joe Keller in their production of ALL MY SONS in March of 2005. Dennis was also seen here in the thriller THE WOMAN IN BLACK in the fall of 2002, portraying 5 separate characters. He also directed GPT's 2005 SHOWBOAT and 2008's JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT.

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