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Arts & Entertainment

CAP Shows Off "A New Brain"

Cultural Arts Playhouse stages musical from Tony award winner William Finn.

The is shaking things up with their most recent production, “A New Brain.”

Written by Tony Award winner William Finn, it tells the story of Gordon Schwinn, a songwriter threatened by serious brain injury before he fulfills his career dreams.

Director Tony Frangipane, who also serves as the theatre’s associate artistic director and general manager said the decision to do this musical was a personal choice. “It’s about an artist wanting to produce art and that touches me,” he says. He also said that Jeff Pangburn, a cast member and assistant to the artistic directors, was also pushing for it.

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The small theatre fills up quickly for these performances, even on their one weekday show on Thursday and the crowd responds with cheers and enthusiasm. A favorite is the outrageous and fun performance by Kyle Petty Richard AKA the nice nurse, who directly addresses the audience, as does Jill Cohen-Wilson in her standout role as Lisa, a homeless woman.

Frangipane mentioned the quirkiness of the show and how it was a little offbeat, which appealed to the theatre. He explained that while they often stages better known plays like and  , it was fun to stretch and do something that was a bit different. At the same time, he said this was a simply a great story, saying, “it has layers…it touches on serious topics but overall is a lot of fun.”

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through Sunday, April 17th.

The Cultural Arts Playhouse runs camps and drama classes for children and regularly has more than one performance being staged at a time, usually by different age groups. Some upcoming shows include "Les Miserables" in May and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," which will be performed by students in grades one through six.

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