Verona residents Bill O’Brien and Amy Fox are directing two of playwright Christopher Durang’s classic one-acts at Studio Players in Montclair this weekend. The shows are “Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You” and “The Actor’s Nightmare.” Another Veronan, Kevin Ohlweiler, plays the Executioner in that production, which revolves around an accountant who is mistaken for an actor’s understudy and is forced to go on in his place.
Studio Players is a community theater outlet that has been staging dramas and comedies for more than 80 years, and all shows are definitely a community effort. “Bill and I have worked on several theatrical ventures together,” says Fox, “usually with me as the director and Bill as an actor. This time Bill is directing, with me as his ‘mentor.’ My husband is our sound operator and Bill’s wife is helping out backstage. Former Verona resident Shelley Sakolsky is our stage manager.”
Opening night for the two one-acts is tomorrow, Friday, January 28 at 8 p.m. There will also be performances at the same time on Saturday and a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, weather permitting. Next week, there are evening performances on February 4 and 5, and a matinee on Sunday, February 6. The final performances are Friday and Saturday, February 11 and 12. You can buy tickets to all shows here.
If the snowstorm headed our way makes a performance impossible, Studio Players will contact all the ticket holders via email and phone to offer a ticket to another performance. If they are unable to attend a different performance, it will refund their money.
