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The Ding Dongs

by Brenda Withers
Grand Horizons - Poster

THE DING DONGS

by Brenda Withers

Directed by REBECCA BRADSHAWº

When sweet-faced strangers show up on a suburban doorstep, the tight-lipped homeowner finds their story suspicious: the house, they claim, was their childhood home and they’ve come in hopes of getting a quick peek. As they cheerily muscle their way across the threshold, it becomes clear the couple has no intention of leaving. Comedy, Ages 13+

THE DING DONGS, a comedic thriller by Cape Cod playwright Brenda Withers (The Office, Matt & Ben, Cyrano) runs from August 11 to 27. Directed by incoming Artistic Director, Rebecca Bradshaw, this witty comedy is a lesson in how power evolves and intimidation works as strangers at the door turn out to be not only strange, but dangerous. 

Performances are Wednesday & Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday & Saturday at 8:00pm, and matinees Saturday & Sunday at 3:00pm indoors at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester MA.

AUGUST 11 – 27

Grand Horizons - Calendar

Performances

7:30 pm, WED + THU
8:00 pm, FRI + SAT
3:00 pm, SAT + SUN

Preview Performances

August 11 + 12

Talk Backs

August 20 + 27

Champagne Opening

Sunday, August 13

Run Time

70 minutes, no intermission

Critical Praise for Brenda Withers’ THE DING DONGS

“The shift in our perception of the characters is artful”

New York Theater

“As the action develops, the tension thickens.”

Cape Cod Times

“open ground where anything might happen –– and does.”

Ithaca Times

Meet the Creative Team

Bess Wohl - headshot

Brenda Withers / Playwright

Brenda Withers is a writer, actor, and founding member of the Harbor Stage Company. Her plays have been developed and produced at places like Northern Stage, Urbanite Theatre, Two River Theatre, Portland Stage, and Amphibian Stage Productions. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College, a recipient of the Clauder Prize and an Edgerton New Play Award, and a recent Huntington Playwriting Fellow.

Robert Walsh - headshot

Rebecca Bradshawº / Director

Rebecca Bradshaw built her career in Boston as a theatre director, producer, educator, casting director, and advocate. She has directed productions for the Huntington Theatre Company, Kitchen Theatre Company, Lyric Stage, The Nora Theatre Company, SpeakEasy Stage, Greater Boston Stage Company, A.R.T. Institute, Emerson College, Bridge Rep of Boston, Central Square Theatre/MIT, Weston Drama Workshop, The Umbrella Center for the Arts, Fresh Ink Theatre, among others. Bradshaw spent eight seasons producing at the Huntington Theatre Company, where she handled line producing, casting, and developing new work. She is a part of the Affiliated Faculty of Emerson College teaching directing and producing, and has taught casting seminars at Harvard University, Suffolk University, Boston University, Brandeis University, Lesley University, and Boston Conservatory. She comes to Gloucester Stage after acting as the Producing Artistic Director at the Kitchen Theatre Company in Ithaca, NY. Bradshaw is a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers union. 

Meet the Cast

 

Karl Gregory* / Joe

Karl Gregory is an Award-Winning Actor, as well as an Award-Winning Bartender. Go figure. NYC Theater: From White Plains (Fault Line Theatre, GLAAD Media Award), FROGS (Fault Line Theatre), Mother’s Day (FringeNYC), BecauseHeCan (Personal Space Theatrics), The Servant of Two Masters (PS122). Regional Theater: Ever So Humble, The 39 Steps (Hangar Theatre), Testosterone, The Wetsuitman (Cherry Arts) The Taming of the Shrew (SFSTL), The Importance of Being Earnest (Trinity Rep). Karl has been seen in over 50 productions with Kitchen Theatre Company, favorite shows include: Every Brilliant Thing, Buyer & Cellar, Peter and the Starcatcher (SALT Award), Gutenberg! The Musical!, Fully Committed (SALT Award), SantaLand Diaries, Swimming In The Shallows, as well as title roles in A Perfect Ganesh, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Servant of Two Masters. TV: ALPHA HOUSE, NIGHTCAP. He recently wrapped a feature film in Provincetown titled “Best Place In The World”. BFA- Syracuse University, MFA- Brown/Trinity Rep. Karl splits his time between Ithaca and Provincetown with his husband, Andrew.  www.karlgregory.com

Nael Nacer* / Redelmo

Off-Broadway: The Orchard (w/ Mikhail Baryshnikov, Arlekin Players/BAC) Regional: Our Town (dir. David Cromer), Romeo and Juliet, A Doll’s House, Bedroom Farce (dir. Maria Aitken), Awake and Sing! (Huntington Theatre); The Merchant of Venice (dir. Igor Golyak), Macbeth (Actors’ Shakespeare Project); People, Places & Things, Small Mouth Sounds, Tribes (SpeakEasy Stage); The Tempest (Commonwealth Shakespeare Company); The Seagull, ChekhovOS (Arlekin Players); The Return (Israeli Stage), Tiny Beautiful Things, True West, The Flick (Gloucester Stage); Constellations (Central Square Theatre); Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, Intimate Apparel (Lyric Stage), A Number, Lungs, The Kite Runner (New Repertory Theatre); The Aliens, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Company One). Nael is a resident acting company member of Actors’ Shakespeare Project, a monologue coach with My College Audition, and the recipient of two Elliot Norton acting awards. Socials: @naelnacer

Erica Steinhagen* / Natalie

Most recently at the Kitchen Theatre Company: Carol in Hurricane Diane, Adrienne in Cry It Out, Margery in Hand to God. Back in the day: The Drunken City; Precious Nonsense; Bed No Breakfast; Tony and the Soprano; Dario Fo’s We Won’t Pay!; Nora; Bed and Sofa; The Servant of Two Masters among others. At the Hangar: Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods; Trish in Kinky Boots; Dana in Ever So Humble (world premiere with Karl Gregory as Bobby); The Sound of Music; Cats; Beauty and the Beast; My Fair Lady; and her one-woman cabaret Imagine My Surprise. With the Cherry (founding member): White Rabbit Red Rabbit, George Kaplan, title role in The Snow Queen and What Happens Next. Additional regional: Stage Kiss; The Best of Kathy and Mo; Wider than the Sky; Antigone; The Drowsy Chaperone; The Unfortunates, a one-woman play by Aoise Stratford. Proud member AEA, proud voice teacher and owner of Erica Steinhagen Voice Studio. ericasteinhagen.com

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)
ºMember of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC)
† Represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829 of the IATSE
THE DING DONGS is presented by special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide. www.theatricalrights.com
This production was originally produced by the Kitchen Theatre Company