Now Playing:

The Love List
by Norm Foster
July 23 - August 15, 2009
2 p.m. Matinee on Sunday, August 9

In this side-splitting and thought-provoking new comedy, Leon and Bill concoct a list of attributes of the ideal woman - the top ten best qualities in a mate. When this allegedly ‘Ideal Woman’ actually arrives on the scene the men quickly learn that their list could use a few revisions. Be careful what you wish for--especially in choosing a mate. This old adage leads to hilarious results in this sparkling comic hit. “Sharp, snappy and irresistibly funny.” -Contra Costa Times

Earlier this Season:

The Merry Wives of Windsor
by William Shakespeare
September 18 - October 11
2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, October 5, 2008

The rascal Sir John Falstaff, mistakenly believing that Mistress Ford and Mistress Page are romantically interested in him, makes his first mistake by sending them identical love letters. As punishment, Falstaff faces various humiliations including being disguised as a hunter and a woman and being concealed under dirty laundry. Meanwhile, young Anne Page is being wooed by three suitors. Which of the three men will succeed? The surprise ending will reveal all.

She Loves Me
book by Joe Masteroff, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, music by Jerry Bock
November 13 - December 13, 2008
2 p.m. matinees on Sundays, November 23 and December 7

Georg and Amalia are two feuding clerks in a European parfumerie during the 1930s who secretly find solace in their anonymous romantic pen pals. Their correspondence leads to a surprise ending. Funny, intelligent, honest and sentimental, “She Loves Me” is a warm romantic comedy with an endearing innocence and a touch of old world elegance and nostalgia, yet as universal and relevant as ever in this age of internet romances. This production is a revival of the first show performed at NCRT, twenty-five years ago.

Beware The Man Eating Chicken by Henry Meyerson, and
The Goat Or, Who Is Sylvia? by Edward Albee
Two One-Act Plays: An Evening of Comedy and Oddity
January 22 - February 14, 2009
2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, February 8

These two outrageous one-act plays take a humorous and profound look at family relationships and definitions of love. In the first play, Betty, wanting to be a good mother to her son William, enters him in the Fattest Man in the Universe Contest. The Goat is about husband and father Martin who falls in love with a goat. “A profoundly unsettling subject, which for the record is not bestiality but the irrational, confounding, and convention-thwarting nature of love.” – New York Times. Winner of the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play. For mature audiences only.

Painting Churches
by Tina Howe
March 19 - April 11, 2009
2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, April 5

Gardner and Fanny Church are preparing to move out of their house to their summer cottage on Cape Cod. Gardner, once a famous poet, slips in and out of senility as his wife Fanny valiantly tries to keep them both afloat. Their daughter Mags, a successful artist, arrives to help them move and, she hopes, to finally paint their portrait, thereby coming to terms with them and they with her. "A radiant, loving and zestfully humorous play.” -Time Magazine

The Producers
book by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan, lyrics and music by Mel Brooks
May 21 - June 20, 2009
2 p.m. matinees on Sundays, May 31 and June 14

The plot is simple: a down-on-his-luck Broadway producer and his mild-mannered accountant come up with a scheme to produce the most notorious flop in history thereby bilking their backers (all “little old ladies”) out of millions of dollars. Only one thing goes awry: the show is a smash hit! At the core of the insanely funny adventure is a poignant emotional journey of two very different men who become friends. Winner of twelve Tony Awards, including Best Musical.