(TEANECK, NJ) -- Black Box Studios presents a a four week engagement of Cloud 9, British playwright Caryl Churchill's hilariously sexy political comedy at Black Box Performing Arts Center in Teaneck from Thursday, February 9th through Saturday, March 4th. Cloud 9, the time-shifting comedy by the author of Top Girls, created a sensation with its 1981 Off-Broadway premiere, directed by Tommy Tune. Originally both parody and spoof of the Victorian Empire and its rigid attitudes, especially toward sex, the piece takes on new meaning in today’s interconnected world.
In Act One, there is Clive, a British functionary; his wife Betty (played by a man); their daughter Victoria (a rag doll); Clive’s friend Harry, an explorer; Mrs. Saunders, who runs about dressed in a riding habit; Clive’s son Edward, who still plays with dolls and is played by a woman; and Joshua, a native servant who knows exactly what is really going on. What really is going on is a marvelous send-up and a non-stop round-robin of sexual liaisons. The second act shifts to London in 1979, but for the surviving characters it is only twenty-five years later, and all those repressed sexual longings have evaporated along with the Empire.
This new production of Cloud 9 is directed by BBPAC Artistic Director Matt Okin, produced by Huey Esquire and Black Box Studios, and features a stellar mix of both BBS/BBPAC veterans and newcomers: Michael Egan, Michael Gardiner, Sara Giacomini, Danielle MacMath, Danielle Manente, Joseph Ramondino and Laurence Wallace, with Stage Manager/Male Swing Jason Felix.
Cloud 9 will play four weekends, from Thursday, February 9th through Saturday, March 4th at Black Box Studios’ new home, Teaneck’s Black Box Performing Arts Center (200 Walraven Drive. (just off Palisade Ave., GPS: 290 Walraven Drive), Teaneck, NJ 07666.
Cloud 9 plays the following performance schedule:
Thursday, February 9th, 8PM; Friday, February 10th, 8PM; Saturday, February 11th, 8PM; Thursday, February 16th, 8PM; Friday, February 17th, 8PM; Saturday, February 18th, 8PM; Thursday, February 23rd, 8PM; Friday, February 24th, 8PM; Saturday, February 25th, 8PM; Thursday, March 2nd, 8PM; Friday, March 3rd, 8PM; Saturday, March 4th, 8PM
Tickets ($20, General Admission and $18 for Students/Seniors) are available now at www.blackboxpac.com/cloud. Group rates for 10 or more are available by calling (201) 357-2221. Tickets can also be purchased at the venue; call (201) 357-2221 for box office hours.
Advisory: Cloud 9 contains graphic language and various mature themes. Audience discretion is strongly advised.
