Struve played Death with sardonic steely wit as a formidable opponent to Dubois' sensitive portrayal of Life, their bantering charged with underlying emotion. A graceful Carol Anne Drescher played The Girl, who falls in love with a poetic Youth, played by Will Poxon. Director Erik W. Alexis created an appropriately dark, otherworldly aura.
The Colonial Players' Joe Thompson wrote a play describing what happens behind the scenes of theatrical productions, Scene Change. The bright comedy is done entirely in the dark to reveal what life is like for stagehands confined to a shadowy world where they practice their art. Director Stephanie Nevin excelled in what must have been a huge challenge. With biting wit that brought major laughs, the unseen cast featured Ben Carr, Leslie Miller, Shaina Garrison and Janette Cahill.
The evening ended on an uproarious note with St. John's College graduate Gretchen Jacobs' play, Hamlet, Act VI, directed by Scott Nichols. Jacobs found unsuspected comic gold in the melancholy Dane, and director Scott Nichols harvested every karat. Among the skilled cast, the comedy crown belongs to Andrea Elward who played sexy Queen Gertrude. Comedian Sharon Crissinger portrayed a feisty Ophelia, elevating this role to high comedy. Other comic standouts included Robby Rose as Horatio, James P. Durcan as Fortinbras, Jason Vaughan as Hamlet, Joe Thompson as Claudius, Steven Cohen as Laertes and Ben Carr as Polonius.
