CST 22nd Season

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22nd Season Carpenter Square Theatre is proud to announce the 2005-2006 season of shows! Join us in a sweeping journey through the last century - 1910, 1920's, 1930s, 1970s, and of course, present day...as we celebrate 22 years of quality alternative theatre in Oklahoma City. Every show this season will be an Oklahoma City premiere!

The Underpants a farcical comedy by Steve Martin Adapted from Carl Sternheim's 1910 farce. Oklahoma City premiere September 2-24, 2005 In Steve Martin’s comic, sophisticated literary style, THE UNDERPANTS is a hilarious, believable look at gender roles and the power of fame and bigotry. A scandal lies at the heart of it. Louise was waving to the king during a parade when her drawers dropped. Her priggish husband is sure that the mishap will jeopardize his government job, ruin their chances of renting the spare room and ultimately ruin them. Soon, Louise is something of a celebrity, and several men are eager to have the room - and the lady of the house. While her self-centered husband worries about losing money and his job, he should be worrying about losing his wife. "A hilarious, over-the-top farce." – New York Daily News.
Boy Gets Girl a thriller by Rebecca Gilman October 14 - November 5, 2005 Named Time Magazine’s #1 Play of 2000, this thriller offers a chilling look at how a woman magazine reporter’s life is irrevocably changed by a blind date. BOY GETS GIRL is a true-to-life look at the dangers that can lie in wait for those searching for love in the city. "The #1 play of the year! Boy Gets Girl is gripping and important." – Time Magazine.
Epic Proportions a comedy by Larry Coen and David Crane (writer/producer of TV's FRIENDS) November 25 - December 17, 2005 In a zany style reminiscent of the Marx Brothers, this satirizes the grand epics of Cecil B. DeMille. During the Great Depression, two brothers land jobs as extras in Exeunt Omnes (Everybody Out!), the biggest motion picture ever filmed. Starting as Egyptian slaves, they emerge as the star and the director. To add to the complications, they both fall in love with the assistant director. Throw in gladiator battles, the Ten Plagues and a cast of thousands played by only four other actors and it should be epic fun! "…everything in it is a delight…it’s delicious." – New York Post.
The Drawer Boy a comedy/drama by Michael Healey January 13 - February 4, 2006 This is a sweet, sometimes hilarious, and ultimately moving story of lifelong friendship. The script has an illustrious pedigree as the most produced play in America in 2004, one of Time Magazine’s 10 Best Plays of 2001, and winner of Canada’s Governor General’s Award and four Dora Awards (Canada’s Tony). Set on a farm in the 1970s, the simple life of long-time friends Morgan and Angus is disrupted when a young actor from Toronto comes to research farm life for a theatre project. Morgan is a gruff, no-nonsense man, while Angus, once known as “the drawer boy” for his love of art and design, suffers from brain damage sustained in WWII. One night, the actor overhears their nightly ritual in which Morgan tells Angus a story of their past, and he secretly writes it into his group’s play. When Angus witnesses the story onstage, it triggers forgotten memories and changes the men’s lives forever. "Wonderfully understated. Funny and deeply affecting." "...about the healing and restorative power of theatre - perhaps the most special effect ever created for the stage." - Toronto Sun
Tiger Lady a drama by Layce Gardner of Tahlequah, Oklahoma based on a notorious true crime February 17 - March 11, 2006 "Tiger Lady!" "Blond Butcher!" screamed the national headlines. It seems that on October 16, 1931 Winnie Ruth Judd shot and killed two women, crammed their body parts into a trunk and hat boxes, and shipped them by train to L.A. Within three days she is arrested, put on trial and sentenced to death. In order to avoid the death penalty, she enters a plea of insanity. Winnie’s only hope is one man, Dr. Elijah Martin who must decide on her sanity. If she is insane, she won’t hang. During the course of his meetings with Winnie Ruth, the action flows in and out of her cell, and over the years 1915 to 1931, as her intriguing tale unfolds.
Enchanted April a romantic comedy by Matthew Barber from Elizabeth von Arnim's 1921 best-selling novel March 24 - April 15, 2006 Winner of the 2003 John Gassner Award for Outstanding New American Play, and nominated for the 2003 Tony, the Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Drama League for Best Play. When two frustrated London housewives decide to rent a villa in Italy for a holiday from their bleak marriages, they recruit two very different ladies to share the cost and the experience. Under the wisteria vines and the Mediterranean sun, the ladies discover their true selves, forge lasting friendships, and rediscover romance. A popular film of this story premiered in 1992. Of course, the stage play is different from the movie, but the magical, romantic essence is the same.
Bright Ideas a dark comedy by Eric Coble May 12 - June 3, 2006 A sharp-witted comedy that proves getting your child into the right school can be murder! The Bradleys are determined social climbers, obsessed with getting their son into Bright Ideas Early Childhood Development Academy, the crème de la crème for the three-foot-and-under crowd. When they discover their son has been placed on a mile-long waiting list, their craze drives them to extreme measures. The young couple descends into madness and mayhem as they cook up a scheme (with a whole lot of pesto) to guarantee their son a slot. Like a scene out of Shakespeare's Macbeth, when the Bradleys achieve their goal, their lives spiral out of control and their misdeeds come back to haunt them. Audiences and critics alike have enjoyed BRIGHT IDEAS. The New York Times raved, "Eric Coble's deliciously black comedy benefits from hilariously funny, psychologically astute portraits … the near surreal spoof hits home with rib tickling acuity…" The New York Post heralded, "Funnier than anything on Broadway!" Variety remarked, "A tidy little gem of comic insanity." Broadway.com proclaimed BRIGHT IDEAS "Wickedly funny."
Wonder of the World a comedy by David Lindsay-Abaire June 16 - July 8, 2006 This is a wacky comedy that borders on the absurd. Seven-year marital itch and a shocking discovery about her husband prompt Cass to leave home to do all the things she feels she’s missed out on. It’s a wild ride to Niagara Falls in a barrel of laughs as her journey of self-actualization is a series of absurd encounters with a wise-cracking suicidal alcoholic, a lonely tour boat captain, a pair of private detectives and a host of off-kilter characters. It builds to full frontal lunacy at America’s symbol of honeymoon bliss. "Hefty laughter. David Lindsay-Abaire’s Wonder of the World is exceedingly whimsical and playfully wicked. Winning and genial." – New York Times. "Playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, whose Fuddy Meers became one of the most acclaimed comedies in recent seasons, should cement his reputation with his newest effort, a wonderfully daffy, surreal extravaganza." – Hollywood Reporter.
Updated: February 08, 2011