DeSales University Act 1 Theater gears up for Christmas with a \u201choliday whodunit\u201d and Northampton Community College Theatre Department finishes 2025 with an update of a 19th century classic.<\/p>\n
Northampton Community College is presenting \u201cHedda Gabler,\u201d Nov. 20 to Nov. 24 in the Lab Theater on the Bethlehem Township campus.<\/p>\n
Act 1 is staging \u201cThe Game\u2019s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays,\u201d Nov. 20 to Dec. 2 on the Main Stage in Labuda Center for the Performing Arts in Center Valley.<\/p>\n
Act 1\u2019s holiday production combines mystery with Christmas cheer in \u201cThe Game\u2019s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays,\u201d written by prolific playwright Ken Ludwig (\u201cLend Me a Tenor,\u201d \u201cCrazy for You\u201d).<\/p>\n
In the comedic play, it\u2019s Christmas Eve in Connecticut and William Gillette, recovering from an attempt on his life, has invited his fellow actors and friends to help him solve the mystery of who shot him.<\/p>\n
Gillette, known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the theater, adopts the persona of the famous sleuth and plans an evening of intrigue. When one of the guests at the estate is killed, it is up to Gillette to discover the murderer before the next victim disappears.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Game\u2019s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays\u201d won the 2012 Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Mystery of the Year.<\/p>\n
Anne Lewis, head of DeSales University\u2019s Division of Performing Arts, directs the show.<\/p>\n
Meet the actors after the show for a talk-back Nov. 23 and Dec. 2.<\/p>\n
The Nov. 22 performance has open-captioning for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing and audio descriptions for patrons who are blind or visually impaired.<\/p>\n
After the show Dec. 5, join the cast for \u201cA Toast to Gillette After Party,\u201d for hot chocolate, sweet treats, and crafty fun inspired by Sherlock Holmes. There will be themed activities, a mystery raffle and a toast to Gillette.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Game\u2019s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays,\u201d 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20, 21, 22, Dec. 3, 4, 5, 6; 2 p.m. Nov. 23, Dec. 7; 9:45 a.m. Dec. 2, DeSales Act 1 Theatre, Main Stage Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-3192; https:\/\/www.desales.edu<\/p>\n
Patrick Marber\u2019s 2016 adaptation of Henrik Ibsen\u2019s \u201cHedda Gabler\u201d is a modern take on the classic drama, focusing on the psychological complexities of the title character, Hedda, and her struggles with societal expectations and personal desires.<\/p>\n
Written in 1891, the play focuses on Hedda (Gabrielle Hondorp). The daughter of a general has just returned to her villa in Kristiania (now Oslo) from her honeymoon.<\/p>\n
Her husband is George Tesman (Christopher Tempel), a young, aspiring academic who continued his research during their honeymoon.<\/p>\n
It becomes clear in the course of the play that Hedda doesn\u2019t love him and is bored with her marriage and life.<\/p>\n
The appearance of George\u2019s academic rival, Eilert Loveborg (Kyle Frazier), throws their lives into disarray. It becomes apparent Eilert and Hedda are former lovers.<\/p>\n
Marber\u2019s play, while rooted in Ibsen\u2019s original, explores contemporary issues like gender roles, celebrity culture and the impact of the Internet. The adaptation aims to make Hedda a more relatable and empathetic figure, even amidst her manipulative and destructive actions and desire for power within the context of her failing marriage and societal expectations.<\/p>\n
The cast includes Sofia Barbour, Travis Nugent and Azelia Dos-Santos.<\/p>\n
Clair M. Freeman directs the drama.<\/p>\n
\u201cHedda Gabler,\u201d 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20, 21, 22, 24; 2 p.m. Nov. 23, Lab Theater, Northampton Community College, 3835 Green Pond Road, Bethlehem Township. 484-484-3412, https:\/\/www.ncctix.org\/<\/p>\n
\u201cCurtain Rises\u201d is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com<\/p>\n
PHOTO BY JACK LERCHFrom left: Ryan Plunkett, Shawn Laub, \u201cThe Game\u2019s Afoot or Holmes for the Holidays,\u201d Desales University Act 1.<\/p>\n
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOGabrielle Hondorp (Hedda Gabler), \u201cHedda Gabler,\u201d Northampton Community College Theatre Department.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DeSales University Act 1 Theater gears up for Christmas with a \u201choliday whodunit\u201d and Northampton Community College Theatre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42692,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-42691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42691","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42691\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}