It’s about character.
our most Recent Production
the boys were back in town!
catskill, New York
a smash hit!!
a comedy with balls
Bridge Street Theatre Eight performances
44 West Bridge Street September 26 – October 6
Catskill, New York Thu, Fri and Sat at 7:30, Sun at 2:00
Read the Reviews Below
the critics rave!
“A play that comes at you like a sharp volley and overwhelms you with wit, charm, and most of all heart … Bridge Street Theatre, home of passionately supported, idiosyncratic theatre, has another winning left turn on its hands with ‘ChipandGus’. A ferociously smart, hysterically funny love story of two men who express themselves through exceptional worldplay, philosophical discussions, touching honesty, and ping pong … If I can convince one person to head down to Catskill tonight to see this original, ravishing comedy, I’ll feel pretty good about it … The ping pong is glorious. Not unlike ‘The Wolves’ or ‘Flex’ where the young women in those plays run soccer or basketball drills (respectively) while holding long discursive conversations, the action heightens the dialogue, sharpens our listening, and can be some of the most thrilling moments you spend in the theatre! … I highly recommend you catch this very enjoyable play!” Patrick White, Nippertown
“Two lonely men, Chip and Gus, meet every third Tuesday of the month to play ping-pong in the back room of a bar in Schenectady, New York. Chip, a struggling professional musician and composer, teaches music at a university as an adjunct professor; Gus has a Ph.D and is the chairman of the philosophy department at the same college. He has written fourteen books and has delivered lectures all over the country. This odd couple are the only characters in the hysterical and touching play ‘ChipandGus’ (that is how the title is written) by John Ahlin and Christopher Patrick Mullen at Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, New York … The play runs for ninety minutes; for seventy or more of those minutes they continuously volley making unbelievable shots time after time. Their dialogue is priceless filled with bon mots, terrible yet funny puns, intellectual humor, sarcasm and wisdom which flies faster than their volleys. As the evening goes on what has started as simply a game night sees a richer affinity evolve between them … A fabulous performance!” Macey Levin, Berkshire On Stage More…
“Who would have thought a game of ping-pong could produce a production this enthralling? Certainly not the opening night audience who couldn’t stop laughing, me included. These two men carry on at a rapid, intense tempo making me wish I could see the play again in order to hear the laugh lines I may have missed while I was laughing … For eighty-seven minutes the two men play ping-pong, discuss life, education, marriage, sexual orientation, work, moving, isolation, consolation, consultation and their relationship while the game goes on. Long held secrets are revealed. Personal fears are unveiled. Grammar is discussed. Disgust is revealed and revelations are displayed. And even the most tragic moments are funny … Both Mullen and Ahlin deliver brilliantly and the show will leave you weak. There is really only a week in which to see it and if you enjoy laughing then see it you must. What makes a comedy a comedy? Well, these two men know, and they will show you with their balls on the table, on the floor and in the air. If you sit in the front row you might want to bring your own paddle.” J. Peter Bergman, Berkshire Edge More …
“Ping Pong in Schenectady makes great fun at Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill … It might seem a huge leap to compare the two- person comedy ‘ChipandGus’ with the work of Shakespeare. However, if you consider that one of the appeals of Shakespeare’s comedies is that they brilliantly mix low-comedy with high intellect, then there is a clear connection. ‘ChipandGus’ is a wildly smart play that is as entertaining as it is comically performed … This is not an elitist work. Indeed, the laughs from all parts of the audience on opening night proved this is a comedy for all … Like Tom Stoppard’s ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’ it captures the existentialistic dread of Shakespeare’s minor characters. In much the same way, the two characters have a kinship to Samuel Beckett’s tramps in ‘Waiting for Godot’. But too, it seems like a prequel to Neil Simon’s ‘The Odd Couple’. I guess you could say, it has something for everyone.” Bob Goepfert, WAMC
some exciting new plays
in development!
just closed
a complete sellout!
boothbay Harbor, Maine June 2024
with Snowlion Rep
mY WITCH
THE MARGARET HAMILTON STORIES
check out the rave reviews
“My Witch is robustly theatrical, sublimely warm, and richly satisfying”
“I might just have to see this again. the play is that good.”
“Spellbinding...this brilliant new play is everything great theater can be. Thrilling, entertaining and interesting...”
“Jean Tafler gives a brilliant, Tony Award-worthy performance”
WATCH THE VIDEO TEASER BELOW
award winning!
best production!
best direction!
plague doctor!
sheNYC 2021 Summer theater festival!
PlAGUE dOCTOR!
by
Charlotte Ahlin
Directed by
danielle cohn
Watch the Award Winners Video!
sunday august 1st 7:30pm
CLICK HERE! FOR INFORMATION
pLAGUE dOCTOR
It’s an ordinary night in for roommates Cosmo, Casey, Roz, and Filomena. They bicker over chores, surf Netflix, and fend off the medieval Plague Doctor who haunts the corners of their apartment. But tonight, they’ve found a new way to relieve the monotony: a storytelling contest with perilous stakes. As they spin their tales, genres weave together and fictional worlds spring to life—and the good Doctor wants in.
This piece is a very, almost irresponsibly loose retelling of The Decameron, a 14th Century series of novellas about a bunch of twenty-somethings swapping stories while quarantined in the Italian countryside. They, too, are waiting out a plague. In this version, of course, the stories are updated. The characters are less concerned with the foibles of the clergy than they are with their own stagnant careers and social lives and the dismal state of the world. But the spirit remains the same: storytelling is humanity’s refuge in dangerous times. And Plague Doctor masks are just freaking scary.
CAST:
Charlotte Ahlin,
Danielle Cohn,
Donovan Mendelovitz,
Nikky Robinson,
Aubrey Lace Taylor
MY WITCH
The Margaret Hamilton Stories
By
John Ahlin
with
Jean Tafler
The amazing tale of how a gentle kindergarten teacher from Cleveland scared the living daylights out of every last one of us…and the brains, heart, and courage it took to be America’s character woman.
In a surprising, fun, haunting, and delightful evening, Jean Tafler portrays Margaret Hamilton, whose Wicked Witch of the West has left an indelible mark on us all. If there is one movie we all share it is The Wizard of Oz, but it is time to pay attention to the woman behind the cackle.
Spend 85 wonderful minutes with Margaret Hamilton, for she has true and terrific stories to tell.
Reviews of the developmental production
My Witch: The Margaret Hamilton Stories is Spellbinding…
A Brilliant New Play.
Everything great theater can be, and then even more.
Thrilling, entertaining and interesting…
Jean Tafler is a real pro and outstanding as Margaret Hamilton.
The audience was under her spell from the show's opening.
She commands the stage and cagily moves about with a kinetic energy.
Jean Tafler gives a brilliant, strong Tony Award caliber performance…
Effortlessly displaying her talent, skills and gifts as an actor.
A Must See!
Hamptons.com Theater Review of Bay Street Theater’s Developmental Production, July 2019
AND DON’T MISS THIS AMAZING SHAKESPEARE PODCAST!
From Fat Knight members Charlotte Ahlin and Danielle Cohn
Named one of the top Shakespeare Podcasts in the Nation.
Every other Wednesday they bring you unsolicited opinions, goofs, and in-depth discussions about which Shakespeare characters most resemble beloved cartoon cats.
MORE PRODUCTIONS IN THE WORKS
By Charlotte Ahlin
Strange things have been happening in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Mysterious lights appear in the sky. Odd men in ill-fitting suits arrive in the dead of night. An impossible, red-eyed monster stalks the woods. And at the heart of it all, one young woman tries to find the truth behind a tragedy. Mothman! is a dark comedy about cryptids, conspiracies, and the stories that don't get told. STAY TUNED!
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*“Amazing, Mesmerizing, Funny, Heart-Wrenching, Cathartic, Surprising, Hilarious, Hypnotic, Profound, Spectacular, Fascinating, Genius, Terrific, Poignant, Brilliant,
An Explosion,
Masterfully Delivered,
One of the Most Impressive Things I’ve ever seen!” *New York Critics
Well, we're coming back!