OPENING night couldn’t come soon enough for producer Peter Armitage and his Marsden team of actors.
For when the curtain went up on Wednesday on the first night of their production of Moon Over Buffalo, there were sighs of relief all round that all the cast were present and correct.
It hasn’t been like that in rehearsals!
"In over 40 years as a producer I've never experienced anything quite like this, it's been a nightmare,” said Peter.
Problems getting all the cast together for rehearsals proved so difficult that the company even discussed calling off the show.
“Richard Haigh was marooned in America for two weeks while Carolyn Taylor shared a similar fate in Spain due to the recent Icelandic volcano,” he said.
“Chris Comber missed two weeks of rehearsal due to his involvement with Huddersfield Light Opera's production of Carousel and the Lawrence Batley Theatre and Katie Field broke a bone in her foot!”
But when the actors finally got together on stage, they pulled off a show which is raking in the laughs at Marsden Parochial Church Hall.
The play has been brushed off and revived by professional companies both in London and on Broadway in recent years.
It’s a comedy caper centred on fading Fifties theatre stars George and Charlotte Hay who are marking time in repertory in Buffalo .
The couple are on the brink of a break-up due to George’s dalliance with a young actress when a top director turns up to see the show.
Cue every disaster in the theatrical book and gags all round.
Performances continue tonight and tomorrow at 7:30pm. Tickets from Duncan's Hairdressers, Warehouse Hill, on 01484 845311 during shop hours or on the door.
