Moon Over Buffalo is a fast-moving comedy that centers on a family of actors trying to make a show come together. Set in the early 1950s in Buffalo, New York, stage actors George (Andrew Arreola and Christopher Lynch, alternately), Neil Rawate (Richard), and Charlotte Hay (Apollonia Turturro) are offered the chance to perform for Frank Capra, a famous film director.
However, things go terribly wrong when George disappears and Charlotte and their daughter, Rosalind (Michelle Stoll), must find him and keep the play of their lives from falling apart.
Unlike many other previous Crespi Drama productions, Moon Over Buffalo utilizes a great deal of physical comedy, including a wrestling match, a sword fight, and even a fall from the stage into an orchestra pit. To facilitate this action, the actors received additional training with JoAnn Mendelson, a stage combat instructor at Loyola Marymount.
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Crespi Drama is working hard to bring the play's aesthetic to the audience in other ways too. As Crespi was not able to attain funding for an outside theater, set designers have worked tirelessly to construct a portable raised stage to accentuate the play-within-a-play aspect.
Even the concession stand has undergone an overhaul, donning a 1950s soda shop look complete with sundaes. With so many different theatrical components, this year's show has brought more to Crespi Drama than ever before.
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Moon Over Buffalo, October 23-29, 2011 Crespi Carmelite High School, 5031 Alonzo Ave. Encino, CA 91316, Tel: (818) 345-1672.
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