Of these two things I am certain; all else is confusion:
Itās thrilleritis-malignus at its finest!
Everything I learned that gets me through the worst, I learned at my Mamaās knee. And I invite her along plenty to come see musical theatre, out and about with me. And while she couldnāt make it to the opening of Cockpit in Courtās Footlooseā my Mama says, it doesnāt matter, if youāre a first-timer or you been there before, you better get your tickets to see that show, before they aināt got tickets no more!
Every adventure requires a first step! Even if you donāt know what comes next! Itās time to take that first step and go on a wonderful adventureā and spoiler, Iāll tell you what comes next! Why itās a wonderful, heartfelt, hour(ish) long show performed by 16 terrific young actors who are doing their showās namesakeā they are daring to dream! Hop on that magic carpet and soar on over to the Court Jesters (the junior division of Cockpit in Court) for this magical production of Disneyās Dare to Dream Jr.
Are you eccentric enough to believe in the soothing power of culture? Theatre is meant to be culture. Dark comedies are meant to be funny. And Yasmina Rezaās darkish-comedy God of Carnage (as translated by Christopher Hampton) certainly has its moments in the upstairs cabaret theatre space of Cockpit in Court, the first of two non-musicals included in the 2026 summer season. Directed by Gabriel Lewin, this edgy dark deviance divulges into the territory of āwhat happens when adults behave like children and fail to act like th grown-ups that theyāre pretending to be?ā
Iāve seen shows in the cabaret theatre space of Cockpit in Court since 2012,
A million lights are dancingā and there they are, a shooting star (ten of them, actually!) An everlasting world, lovely-in-blueā¦and theyāre there with you! Must beā
Xanadu
ELO, ONJ, OMG, and all that jazz! Itās Veniceā¦ okay Venice Beachā¦well, Essex at CCBC but weāll suspend our disbelief for this fun and whimsical bit of theatrical cotton candy. The iconic and camptastic screen-to-stage gem Xanadu is glittering its way onto Cockpit in Courtās main stage as the first of a five-show season (two upstairs,
What if there was a play that could make you see how the world could be instead of the way that it is? Second star to the right and straight on ātil morning. Though not quite. A little before that. Before that? You ask? Inconceivable! Wrong. Think again. Before there was the Pan as we know him, all green-clad and crowing, flying and taunting the infamous Captain Hook, there was a nameless boyā¦a perhaps even a lost boy,
author: Leonard Taube
Feeling a little tickle in your throat of late?Ā Perhaps your eyes are watering a bit too much, or else you find yourself prone to attacks of unending sneezing.Ā Good chance you have a bit of hay fever acting up.Ā Doctorās orders?Ā Purchase tickets to see Cockpit in Courtās (in residence at CCBC Essex, The Robert & Eleanor Romadka College Center Cabaret Theatre) production of Noel Cowardās 1924 comedy Hay Fever.
If you donāt take a chance then you donāt have a chance because you didnāt take it! Sound advice, especially when it comes to taking a chance on Cockpit in Courtās Court Jestersā production of Beetlejuice Jr. Itās a show about death! As explicitly explained in the second number of the performance and itās a hilarious wild ride featuring that iconic black-and-white-striped clad ghoulish guy from the Netherworldā beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. BEETLEJUICE!!* Directed by Liz Boyer Hunnicutt with Musical Direction by Charlotte Evans and Choreography by Amanda Poxon,
Do you want to look into the bottom of your soul? How many of you would be okay with such a notion? What if you had no choice because you were aā Bad Seed? In a gripping drama, Cockpit in Court kicks off their 2025 summer season in the upstairs cabaret space with Bad Seed by Maxwell Anderson (based on the novel by William March.) Directed by Todd Pearthree, this spooky little tale may not be an Agatha Christie mystery,
author: Leonard Taube
Anyone ever get so angry with you that theyāve told you to āGo to the devil!ā?Ā Well, now you can (so-to-speak) and enjoy the trip as well!Ā Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre (in residence at CCBC Essex) is currently putting on the 1955 musical comedy Damn Yankees.Ā With a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross, Damn Yankees is set during the 1950ās during a time when the New York Yankees dominated major league baseball.Ā
Just one look and I can hear a bell ring!
One more look and I forget everything!
Whoaāooh! Mamma Mia! Here I go againā except I wonāt be forgetting that summer where Beth Tfiloh Community Theatre produced Mamma Mia (it was nowā right nowā this summer, summer of 2024 and you still have a chance to see it!) And I definitely wonāt forget that I got to sit down with the three Titans of Theatreā Diane Smith,
author: Leonard Taube
Ā
āI want a divorceā.Ā So begins the play Grand Horizons which Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre is putting on in their upstairs In-The-Round space which opened tonight to rousing applause and enthusiastic reception.Ā A relatively recent play written by American playwright, screenwriter, and actress Bess Wohl, Grand Horizons began previews on Broadway on December 23,2019 and opened on January 23, 2020.Ā This play marked Wohlās Broadway debut and was nominated for the 2020 Tony Award for Best Play.
Turn your face toward Cockpit in Courtā¦let your memory lead youā¦open up enter in (to the F. Scott Black Theatre inside the Robert & Eleanor Romadka College Center) you will find thereā¦the meaning of what happiness isā¦ and a new showā¦will begin. If it was mystical the first time, magical the second, it will certainly be memorable, magnificentā truly Jellicleā the third as Bambi Johnson (who has become synonymous with Andrew Lloyd Webber and T.S.
Glamourous. Or fallen from Grace? Memoryā¦
With only one cat remaining, I think itās pretty clear who youāre playing, but just in case people havenāt been following along, tell us who you are and who you are playing!
Lisa Pastella: I am Lisa Pastella and I play Grizabella.
Tell us all about Grizabella.
Lisa: I feel like I am Grizabella, where coming back into theatre after five yearsā¦after Covidā¦after Covid and of course having the babyā¦I am surrounded by lots of younger people that are incredibly talented.
All hail the queen? Weāve got royalty cats in this show? Sure! Why not? Jellicle Cats are a great many thingsā¦not the least of which are kings and queens!
Thank you so much for giving us some of your time. Why donāt you tell us who you are and who you play in this production of Cats.
Ryann Reich: My name is Ryann Reich and I play Victoria.
A Jellicle Cat is a theatre cat! And a theatre cat in more ways than one!
Thank you for joining us again, Sam. Pleasure to have you back! Why donāt you remind the readers out there who you are and tell us who youāre playing this time with Cats?
Sam Ranocchia: Iām still Sam Ranocchia but this time Iām playing Gus, the Theatre Cat!
And remind meā and everybody elseā who you played last time at Tidewater.
Winding down with just a few more cats to go, one might almost say that the āhustle and bustleā of the Jellicle Ball is doneā¦but not before this cat has her say!
Thanks for joining us! Tell us who you are and who you play in this production of Cats!
Laura May: Iām Laura May and I play Jennyanydots.
Tell me all about Jennyanydots!
Laura: Well I havenāt quite found her all the way yet.
Father of the clowder, leader of the tribe, revered and exalted, he now hath arrived! Make forā¦
Thank you for joining us today, tell us who you are and I think given the lead-in to this interview we all know who you play, but please do tell us anyhow.
Ryan Garbee: Iām Ryan Garbee and I am in fact playing Old Deuteronomy.
Tell us all about Old Deuteronomy.
Ryan: He is the leader of the clowder.
Curious Beast! The RTTā which has TWO Tās, which rhyme with P and that stand forā¦Cat? (The āpā is silent in cat? Thereās nothing more TROUBLE than a cat, letās be honest.)
Thank you for joining us! Can you tell us who you are and who you play?
Adam Goldsmith: Iām Adam Goldsmith and Iām Rum Tum Tugger.
Ooh. So youāre Rum Tum. Got it. Tell me all about him!
Different types who wear a day coatā pants with stripes and cutaway coatā perfect fitsā or is it cats in spats? Man Mel Brooks is gonna come for me. What show is this again?
Hello, Wayne! Welcome back to the Jellicle Ball! Remind us who you are and what youāre doing here?
Wayne Ivusich: Iām still Wayne Ivusich. And Iām playing Bustopher Jones againā I like to call him Bustopher Version Two.
Meow! Meow! Meow! Hear them? Theyāre all meowinā ācause heās the leader of the pack! MEOW! Wellā¦the leader of the pack when the actual leader isnāt hanging aroundā you get the picture.
Thank you for joining us! Tell us who you are and who you play!
Jared Shiver: Iām Jared Shiver and I play Munkustrap.
Tell me a little bit about Munkustrap.
Jared: Munkustrap is the second cat in command.
Jellicle Cats are Made-Up Cats. And not just that kind of made-up! Itās a whole beauty palette coming at you from this Jellicle Cat!
Thank you so much for spontaneously agreeing to be a part of this series. Becky Flickinger has surprised us both with deciding that this was happeningā right now* āas you, she, and Bambi were walking back from the theatre, previewing what the space was going to look like! So weāre both going to be doing a little impromptu improvisation!
Could it be? Anotherā *gasp* CAT!? (Well you didnāt think weād suddenly switched to Dogs: The Musical, did you?)
Thank you for giving us some of your time today! Could you tell us who you are and who you play?
Alyssa Bell: Sure! My name is Alyssa Bell and I play Cassandra.
Tell us a little bit about Cassandra?
Alyssa: Cassandra is an Egyptian cat.
Jellicle Cats areā¦ducks and pancake syrup!? Wait a minuteā¦
Thank you so much for sitting with us today! Could you tell us who you are and who you play in this production of Cats?
Meagan Jenkins: Iām Meagan Jenkins and I play Jemima.
Tell me about Jemima!
Meagan: Well, my lore or the showās lore?
Either or! Or both! Whatever makes you happy!
Iāve been a reviewing critic for nearly 15 years. And thereās no irony lost on me that on the day my personal publication, TheatreBloom, turns 10 years old, Cats at Cockpit in Court will be closing its three-week run, concluding the main-stage 2024 season for that company. The āLocal Limelightā was a series of interviews that was cooked up during the pandemic, when everyone was wondering if weād ever get to ātheatreā again (like it was a true verb.) And itās designed to shine a spotlight on someone in the community who gets up to great things,
Jellicle Cats are dancing catsā¦Jellicle Cats are returning Catsā¦once a combo cat nowā¦
Welcome back! And thank you for giving us some of your time! Tell us who you are, who you were before, and who you are once more? This is getting complicated!
Katelynn OāConnor: Iām Katelynn OāConnor, that is still the same. But last time I was a combination of Victoria and Jemima and this time Iām playing Exotica!
Meow? Iāll bet you a pound of catnip weāre about to meet another cat. I win. Donāt worry, it wonāt go very far with my six at home, but hey, catnip is catnip. Maybe theyāll finally tell me their super secretive names. In the meantime, you go meet this amazing cat.
Thank you for joining us! Please tell us who you are and who you play in Cats.
Aaron Knight: Iām Aaron Knight.
A fancier, sensible cat. T.S. Eliot might have even named this one in that one poem about naming the cats! Are you ready to meet another Jellicle Tom? No, there are no cats called Tom.
Thank you for joining us! Could you tell us who you are and who you play here at Cats?
Michael Shipman: I am Michael Shipman and I play Admetus.
Tell me a little bit about Admetus.
Riffraff. Streetcat. I donāt buy that! Man, Iāve been spending too much time on the Disney channel. But announcing in this corner, the talking-weight-champion of the Cats interview series, weighing in at 9 minutes and 24 secondsā¦ a record previously held by Rob Tucker in the 2022 production of Cats (8 minutes and 9 seconds though while holding the role of Quaxo/Rumpus Catā¦not Mungojerrie, which he did play in the 2016 production of Bambiās Catsā¦anyone need a graph-chart yet?) We are pleased to present MUNGOJERRIE!
Which one is which? Is it Mungojerrie? Or Rumpleteazer? Rumpleteazer? Or Mungojerrie? (Well, weāve learned that if youāve ever or are currently playing Mungojerrie you have the potential to have hadā¦or holdā¦the longest ātalking catā recordā¦ IYKYK) So this must beā¦
Thank you for joining us! Why donāt you tell us who you are and which one of the frick-n-frack twins you happen to be playing?
Veronica Lane: Iām Veronica Lane and I play Rumpleteazer!