{"id":52351,"date":"2023-05-19T16:44:41","date_gmt":"2023-05-19T20:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=52351"},"modified":"2023-05-19T16:44:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-19T20:44:43","slug":"on-stage-chesco-resident-giddings-made-the-journey-from-the-uk-and-to-the-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/?p=52351","title":{"rendered":"On Stage: Chesco resident Giddings made the journey from the UK and to the stage"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Some years ago, Susan Giddings made the 3,500-mile journey from the London area of England to the Philadelphia area \u2013 more specifically from Hartfordshire to Chester County.<\/p>\n

Once in America, Giddings became involved with theater.<\/p>\n

Now, she is playing one of the major roles in the production of \u201cThe Musical Comedy Murders of 1940,\u201d which is running now through June 25 at the Candlelight\u00a0Theatre (2208 Millers Road, Arden, Delaware,\u00a0302- 475-2313,\u00a0www.candlelighttheatredelaware.org<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Giddings\u2019 first love has always been horses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to the United States in the 1980s,\u201d said Giddings, during a phone interview Monday from her home in Lionville.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came here for a three-month vacation. Then, the Pony Club, which is headquartered in West Chester, offered me a job.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had horses and used to teach. I love horses and theater was second. I really loved them both.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always liked theater but never had time to do it when I was in England. Once I moved here, I started auditioning for shows. I didn\u2019t get into it deeper until the mid-90s.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Susan Giddings<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI started with some community theater. The first show I did was \u2018Nude with Violin\u2019 at Barley Sheaf Players in Lionville. Then, I decided I wanted to work in Philadelphia.\u201d<\/p>\n

Giddings performed in productions with theater companies all around the Delaware Valley including Inis Nua Theatre, New City Stage and Theatre Horizon.<\/p>\n

She also performed in two productions at Candlelight Theatre \u2013 as Mother in \u201cBarefoot in the Park\u201d and Martha in \u201cArsenic and Old Lace. Now, she is back at Candlelight performing the role of Bernice in \u201cThe Musical Comedy Murders of 1940.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw the show once,\u201d said Giddings. \u201cA friend of mine was in the show years ago in community theatre and she asked me to come. But I didn\u2019t remember anything about the show.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Musical Comedy Murders of 1940\u201d\u00a0is a murder mystery. The action takes place on an estate in Chappaqua, New York in December 1940.<\/p>\n

An eccentric heiress has invited a group of theater people to her home on the pretense of holding a backer\u2019s audition for a new musical. The creative team for this new project was also involved in a recent Broadway flop that closed abruptly when three of its showgirls were mysteriously murdered.<\/p>\n

As the mayhem at the mansion unfolds, murders begin to pile up and everyone\u2019s a suspect. The zany show features a lot of slapstick comedy along with blizzard conditions, secret passageways and musical snippets.<\/p>\n

The play was first performed at the\u00a0Circle Repertory Company\u00a0in New York and later moved to\u00a0Broadway in April 1987 at The\u00a0Longacre Theatre. Both productions were directed by the playwright and shared the same cast. The play is said to have been based on several 1940s mystery movies, including\u00a0The Cat and the Canary, one of\u00a0Bob Hope’s first films.<\/p>\n

Bernice Roth is a perpetually thirsty\u00a0lyricist and alcoholic. She is Roger’s partner. Bernice is very odd and emotional, frequently losing her composure and screaming. When Marjorie fails to respond to the second act opening number of “White House Merry-Go-Round”, Bernice is hugely offended, despite the fact that Marjorie was dead at the time. She spends the entire second act attempting to \u201cfix\u201d the play, even when she is held hostage.<\/p>\n

\u201cBernice is enormous fun to play,\u201d said Giddings. \u201cThe audiences seem to really get into this show. They\u2019re a little quieter during the firs act. The second act takes off more. They\u2019re like two different acts.\u201d<\/p>\n

The production at Candlelight also features a standout cast of Chelsea Paradiso, Susan Wefel, Henry Glejzer, Walter Todd, Chris Fitting, Sarah Mackus, Robert Gene Pellechio, Samantha Ricciuti and Shaun Yates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Musical Comedy Murders of 1940\u201d is running now through June 25. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings (doors 6 p.m.\/show, 8 p.m.) and Sunday afternoons (doors, 1 p.m.\/show, 3 p.m.). Tickets, which include dinner and a show, are $71.50 for adults and $33 for children (ages 4-12).<\/p>\n

Lyric Fest (https:\/\/lyricfest.org<\/a>) is back again with another edition of its project featuring just one composer from the middle part of last century. This time, it\u2019s the songwriting duo of Rodgers and Hart.<\/p>\n

This month, Lyric Fest presents \u201cBewitched, the Bothered, Bewildered Songs of Rodgers & Hart\u201d on May 23 at Moorestown Community Center and May 24 at The Academy of Vocal Arts.<\/p>\n

The tribute to the American Songbook features mezzo-soprano Suzanne\u00a0DuPlantis\u00a0and baritone Brian Major with pianist John Conahan and saxophonist Ron Kerber.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re an art song revival series and this is our 20th season,\u201d said\u00a0DuPlantis, during a recent phone interview from Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take a theme and create a program. We curate songs and also do commissioned music. We do one concert a year featuring the Great American Songbook. The rest is classical.\u201d<\/p>\n

This music has been around much longer than Lyric Fest has existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year for the last six, we\u2019ve been ending the season with an American Songbook composer,\u201d said\u00a0DuPlantis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started at the beginning of the 20th century. We did the Gershwins. We did Kurt Weil, Irving Berlin and Cole Porter. Now, we\u2019re doing Rodgers and Hart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rodgers and Hart\u00a0were an American\u00a0songwriting\u00a0partnership between composer\u00a0Richard Rodgers\u00a0(1902\u20131979) and the lyricist\u00a0Lorenz Hart\u00a0(1895\u20131943). They worked together on 28 stage musicals and more than 500 songs from 1919 until Hart’s death in 1943.<\/p>\n

Rodgers was an American\u00a0composer\u00a0who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and more than 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American composers of the 20th century, and his compositions had a significant influence on popular music.<\/p>\n

Rodgers is known for his songwriting partnerships, first with lyricist\u00a0Lorenz Hart\u00a0and then with\u00a0Oscar Hammerstein II. Rodgers was the first person to win all four of the top American entertainment awards in theater, film, recording, and television\u00a0\u2013 a\u00a0Tony, an\u00a0Oscar, a\u00a0Grammy, and an\u00a0Emmy\u00a0\u2013 now known collectively as an\u00a0EGOT.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince high school, I\u2019ve always loved Rodgers and Hart,\u201d said DuPlantis. \u201cRodgers & Hart is more sophisticated than Rodgers & Hammerstein \u2013 not as sweet and sugary. His music with Rodgers & Hart was more virtuosic. For this concert, I wanted to keep Rodgers & Hart and Rodgers & Hammerstein separate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted to talk about how Rodgers and Hart met. They grew up about a block apart in New York\u2019s Jewish Harlem. Hart was seven years older, and they didn\u2019t meet until later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey met in 1919 at Columbia University and wrote together all through the 1920s. Rodgers needed a librettist and people told him about Hart. They met and felt immediately that they were going to work together.\u201d<\/p>\n

DuPlantis has been working on assembling this program for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cI stared working on the program six months ago,\u201d said DuPlantis. \u201cDeciding what to include was difficult. I wanted to have a good mix. I started with about 30 songs and brought it down to 19. It was hard because they\u2019re all really great songs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The line-up of Rodgers & Hart classics includes Dances on the Ceiling, Spring is Here, I Could Write a Book, Lady is a Tramp, Small Hotel, Where or When, Wait Till You See Her, Have You Met Miss Jones, Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, To Keep My Love Alive, Ship Without a Sail, My Funny Valentine, It Never Entered My Mind, Glad to be Unhappy, Blue Moon, Manhattan, This Can\u2019t Be Love, I Wish I Were in Love Again,\u00a0and My Romance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our final production of the year \u2013 and our 20th anniversary party,\u201d said DuPlantis. \u201cThere is no stage. Brian and I both sit at floor level and sing separately and together. It\u2019s about an hour show with 19 songs and talking in between.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show on May 23 will start at 7 p.m. at Moorestown Community Center, which is located at 16 East Main Street in Moorestown, New Jersey. The show on May 24 will start at 7 p.m. at the Academy of Vocal Arts, which is located at 1920 Spruce Street in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

Tickets for\u00a0either\u00a0show\u00a0are $25.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking to hear jazz or blues music live, then you need to look no further than Jamey\u2019s House of Music (32 South Lansdowne Avenue, Lansdowne, 215-477-9985,www.jameyshouseofmusic.com<\/a>). The Delaware County venue is a prime destination to hear folk, jazz and blues music every Thursday through Sunday.<\/p>\n

The \u201cJazz at Jamey\u2019s\u201d on Thursdays and the \u201cSunday Blues Brunch & Jam\u201d are regular features on Jamey\u2019s calendar while Friday and Saturday night shows feature national and regional acts.<\/p>\n

On May 19, there will be an album release party by Aaron Nathans & Michael G. Ronstadt with Greg Klyma as the opening act.<\/p>\n

On May 20, the headline act will be The Billy Price Band.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Friday will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.<\/p>\n

The show at Jamey\u2019s on Saturday will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door.<\/p>\n

Kennett Flash (102 Sycamore Alley, Kennett Square, 484-732-8295,\u00a0http:\/\/www.kennettflash.org<\/a>) will present\u00a0Scott Tournet on May 19 and Three Ton on May 20.<\/p>\n

Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center (226 North High Street, West Chester, www.uptownwestchester.org<\/a>) will present the musical \u201cInto the Woods\u201d from May 19-21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times Some years ago, Susan Giddings made the 3,500-mile journey from the London area of England to the Philadelphia area \u2013 more specifically from Hartfordshire to Chester County. Once in America, Giddings became involved with theater. Now, she is playing one of the major roles in the production of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[5872,7426,15149,15150],"class_list":["post-52351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-candlelight-theater","tag-featured","tag-susan-giddings","tag-the-musical-comedy-murders-of-1940"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52351"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52352,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52351\/revisions\/52352"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/52349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unionvilletimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}