Musicals, Broadway stars & dark comedy: 14 theater shows on Cape Cod stages + 4 on film

It can be a challenge to keep up with the quickly changing theater scene during a Cape Cod summer, and there are several new shows to add to your choices this week.

There are more musicals at College Light Opera Company and readings from Cape Cod Theatre Project in Falmouth; a mix of film and theater with an environmental message in Eastham; the premiere of a new play by one of Harbor Stage Company’s founders; the musical “Victor/Victoria” in Cotuit; the award-winning dark comedy “God of Carnage” in Dennis; and a staged reading of a murder mystery in Centerville.

For shows already playing, check out what our critics say to help you figure out your calendar for the weekend and beyond at www.capecodtimes.com/entertainment. We’ve got online reviews of the Elvis Presley musical “All Shook Up” at College Light Opera Company in Falmouth; “Bob Marley’s Three Little Birds” at The Cape Cod Theatre Company/Harwich Junior Theatre in West Harwich; “Mamma Mia!” at Cape Rep Theatre in Brewster; “Always … Patsy Cline” at Cape Playhouse in Dennis; “Marry Me a Little” at Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater; and “The Lady Hamlet” at Provincetown Theater.

Reviews: Elvis? Bob Marley? ABBA? Patsy Cline? What our reviewers say about 6 Cape Cod theater shows

Here's a look at what's new:

Harbor Stage premieres new play by co-founder

As part of its 10th season, the Harbor Stage Company, an artist-run ensemble in Wellfleet, will produce the world premiere of “The Ballad of Bobby Botswain,” written by and starring company co-founder Jonathan Fielding and frequent Harbor collaborator Jason Lambert.

The two-hander is described as “a madcap look at the line between criminality and kindness” that “follows a pair of mismatched partners as they navigate small-town life, the American healthcare system, and the influence of a charismatic guru.”

Shows are July 14-Aug. 6 at the theater, 15 Kendrick Ave.; $25, with a Pay-What-You-Can performance on July 15; http://www.harborstage.org/.

Don’t miss these short runs

► Brittany K. Allen’s “Ball Change,” directed by Dina Vovsi, will be the next play-in-development being given a staged reading by Cape Cod Theatre Project at Falmouth Academy, 7 Highfield Drive. The show starts in the 1960s and then shows the 50 years of economic, social and technological upheaval at New York City’s most elite celebrity answering services. Starring will be Gabby Beans, whose stage credits include being nominated this year for a Tony Award and a Drama League Distinguished Performance Award as Sabina in “The Skin of our Teeth.” Shows are at 7:30 p.m. July 14-16; https://capecodtheatreproject.org/.

► Centerville Historical Museum (513 Main St.) will present a staged reading of a one-act radio mystery play, “Mystery on the Steps of Craigville,” by local writer and actress Jane Hattemer-Stringer, at 7 p.m. Friday, July 15. The play, set in Centerville, is set in 1920, where mysterious events occur in a little village, Craigville and an Irish detective, James O’Callahan, starts investigations. Admission: $10, $8 for members; http://centervillehistoricalmuseum.org/.

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► After “All Shook Up” closes on Saturday, July 16, the young cast and orchestra of the College Light Opera Company will on Tuesday, July 19 open “Die Fledermaus,” a Johann Strauss operetta that involves disguises, revenge and mayhem. The show runs through July 23 at Highfield Theatre, 58 Highfield Drive, Falmouth; http://www.collegelightoperacompany.com/.

Broadway vets back together again

Tony Award winner Faith Prince and Broadway star Jason Graae will reunite for two Provincetown shows at 7 p.m. July 17-18 of "You And Me, But Mostly Me" with Alex Rybeck as pianist. The concerts are part of Mark Cortale's "Broadway @ the Art House" series at 214 Commercial St.

The two have performed for Broadway, off-Broadway, regional theater and cabaret audiences for decades. The program will include songs by Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Cy Coleman and William Finn. Prince's Broadway credits include "Guys & Dolls," "Annie" and "Bells Are Ringing"; Graae's shows include "A Grand Night for Singing," "Falsettos" and "Stardust." Tickets and information:   https://provincetownarthouse.com/.

A woman playing a man playing a woman…

“Victor/Victoria” is the big musical of the summer at Cotuit Center for the Arts (4404 Falmouth Road, Route 28) playing evenings and matinees July 19-Aug. 7. The show will transform the indoor stage into a drag club from 1930s Paris for the show based on Blake Edwards’ 1982 film, with music by Henry Mancini and Frank Wildhorn, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Wildhorn.

Directed and choreographed by Celia Krefter, with musical direction by Malcolm Granger, the romantic comedy focuses on struggling singer Victoria, who, with help from friend Toddy, passes herself off as a man performing as a female impersonator. A lot of dancing and song fuel the gender-bending story of love.

Tickets: $40, $35 for members, $38 for seniors/veterans; https://artsonthecape.org/ or 508-428-0669, ext. 0.

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How well can adults get along?

Next up in the summer season for Cape Playhouse in Dennis is the 2008 Tony and Olivier awards-winner “God of Carnage,” a dark, modern comedy by Yasmina Reza, running Wednesday, July 20 to July 30.

In the story, two sets of parents meet to deal with their sons’ unruly playground behavior, and get highly emotional in their discussion. They will be played by actress/writer Jill Abramovitz, (Broadway’s "Beetlejuice,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” TV’s “Madam Secretary”); Jason O'Connell, a veteran of New York and regional theaters; Vanessa Lock, a Washington D.C.-based actress and director; and Benim Foster (Broadway’s “Disgraced,” “Barefoot in the Park,: TV’s “Shining Vale”).

Shows are at the theater, 820 Main St., Dennis; $45-$80; https://www.capeplayhouse.com/.

Plays take on environmental disaster

“Four Plays for a Planet in Peril” are plays that were written/directed by Lee Roscoe, performed during the pandemic by local actors, and preserved in short films by filmmaker/producer Janet Murphy Robertson. The free Cape premiere is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., Wednesday, July 20 at Eastham Public Library, 190 Samoset Road.

Following the 80-minute screening, there will be a brief Q & A with Roscoe and Robertson. To register: https://easthamlibrary.libcal.com.

The environmental dangers for Earth, the creators say, are portrayed differently in each piece. In the poetic and dreamlike “Water Spirits Colloquy,” two Greek demigods and a legendary Native American spirit meet to share their torment over the ravaging of Earth’s waters by humans then conspire to exact revenge. In “The Cage,” a boss, a middle manager and a worker argue with both insight and myopia in a class war.

In “Reprieve,” an Indigenous man in despair over the demise of his culture and the Earth is saved by the caring concern and common decency of people he barely knows. In “The Warning,” the cycle ends with an explosion of imagery and over-the-top theatrics, with Roscoe playing Woman/Earth in what is described as "a hyperbolized eco-feminist cartoon." “The Warning” is an official finalist in three categories for the Independent Short Film Awards in Los Angeles: Best Experimental Short, Best Original Story, and Best Ensemble Cast.

The films will be available for online viewing at a later date and details will be posted at https://www.artistsandmusicians.org/theater/; information is also available at the website.

Contact Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll at kdriscoll@capecodonline.com. Follow on Twitter: @KathiSDCCT.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Cape Cod theater: 14 musicals, comedy, Broadway stars, films, readings