Published June 7th, 2023
Orinda Starlight Village Players celebrates 40 years in Orinda Community Park
By Sora O'Doherty
Image provided
The 2023 season of the Orinda Starlight Village Players has something for everyone, from farce to fairy tale. Opening the season in June will be Agatha Christie's "The Secret of Chimneys" with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m., Sunday June 25 at 4 p.m. and Thursday June 29 at 8 p.m.

In the play, the Council Chambers at Chimneys, the Brent family estate, holds a dark and intriguing secret and someone will stop at nothing to prevent the monarchy being restored in faraway Herzoslovakia. A young drifter finds more than he bargained for when he agrees to deliver a parcel to the English country estate. Little did Anthony Cade suspect that a simple errand on behalf of a friend would make him the centerpiece of a murderous international conspiracy. A sinister plot rife with diamonds, oil concessions, exiled royalty, an elusive master criminal and the combined forces of Scotland Yard and the French Surete should be entertaining.

Directed by Laura Martin-Chapin the play features cast members Patrick Atkinson, Venee Call-Ferrer, John Chapin, Bill Chessman, Jill Gelster, Kenneth Matis, Miriam Michels, Laura Martin-Chapin, Yvette Niccolls, Dan Philips, Ken Sollazzo, and William Spongberg.

Tickets are available at the Box Office, call (925) 528-9225 or email info@orsvp.org for reservations. OVSP cannot accept credit cards, so please pay by cash or check only. Regular admission: $20; Senior/Children: $10. Groups of 25 or more receive a discount off the regular admission ticket cost for the purpose of fundraising. Please leave a message at (925) 528-9225.

Be aware that this is an outdoor theatre and dress appropriately/bring blankets. Theater-goers are invited to bring a picnic and enjoy the show.

Two additional plays will complete the season. Ray Cooney's "It Runs in the Family" will be performed July 21 through Aug. 12 Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m. and on Sunday Aug. 6 at 4 p.m. and Thursday, Aug. 10 at 8 p.m.

Britain's master farceur ("Two Into One, Run For Your Wife," et al.) is at it again. Set in a hospital, "It Runs in the Family" contains the usual assortment of farcical nuts running in and out of doors mistaking everybody for someone else, as Dr. Mortimore tries to fend off a paternity suit, an ex-wife, a punkish son and various other lunatics so that he may, at last, deliver the Ponsonby Lecture in an international conference.

Finally, Malcolm Cowler's adaptation of Carlo Collodi's "Pinocchio" will run from Sept. 8 to Sept. 30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.; on Sundays Sept. 17 and 24 at 4 p.m. and Thursday Sept. 28, at 8 p.m.

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