The current show of Theatre Works' 22nd season is "On Golden Pond" — the love story of 80-year-old Norman Thayer and his wife Ethel, returning to their summer home for their 48th year. The plot also revolves around their 42-year-old daughter Chelsea, her dentist fiancé, his smart-mouthed 15-year-old son, and Chelsea's former boyfriend from high school, now the mailman. Director Donald Babbitt takes this well-written script and casts some wonderful performers in these roles, leading to a well-earned standing ovation at the end of the show.

Donald also designed the gorgeous rustic summer cabin set, which looks so realistic you could live in it. Sharon Charette provides the costumes for this show set in Maine.

Bert Cayer plays the role of the lovable curmudgeon wonderfully. His role has so many one-liners that the audience is left in stitches all night long. Some of the funniest scenes are the slang-learning scene with Billy and the illicit sex talk with Bill. Christine Cardoza plays his loving and doting wife Ethel, with some funny moments of her own — but her best scene is a dramatic one near the end of the show when she thinks "her old poop" is dying.

The couple's estranged daughter Chelsea is played excellently by Kim Alessandro. She has a husky-sounding voice whether playing the comic or dramatic moments, and handles the emotions of a woman who has grown up with a cold, distant father who always wanted a son but finally accepts her at this late moment in his life. Joe Casey plays Chelsea's boyfriend Bill. Although in only one scene, Joe does a topnotch job — especially when he tells the old man that he and Chelsea will be sleeping together in the cabin, finally standing up to Norman's barbs. He also does a comic bit running away from a "bear" in the woods.

The smart-aleck kid Billy is played by Kris Cournoyer, with comic moments in the bullshitting and fishing scenes. Brad Dorval plays the befuddled, constantly laughing mailman — a character who still loves Ethel's toll house cookies and still has a crush on Chelsea after all these years. So for a fun-filled evening set in the woods of Maine, be sure to catch "On Golden Pond".

Theatre Works' third show of their 22nd season is Ken Ludwig's farce "Moon Over Buffalo". Set in June 1953 at the Erlanger Theatre in Buffalo, New York, George and Charlotte Hay are on tour with a repertory of "Cyrano de Bergerac" and Noël Coward's "Private Lives". Fate has given this couple one more shot at starring roles in a movie epic when director Frank Capra himself is en route to catch their matinee performance. One problem: George is drunk and isn't sure which show he's doing, creating a hilarious mixture of both. Director Mark Anderson keeps the pace flowing and builds an actual moving stage where his actors perform the plays within a play. The 1950s costumes by Sharon Charette give the show its finishing touch.

The stage set is expertly built and moves easily out of sight so you can see the backstage area of the theater. Mark casts his show very well, and his performers shine in their roles. Rick Concannon is a hoot as the drunken George who creates chaos in this farce. His leading lady is Connie Anderson as Charlotte, who delivers her one-liners and clever put-downs expertly. Lisa Forsgard is hilarious as Charlotte's deaf mother, delivering one of the funniest lines when George falls off the stage: "That is where you belong — in the pit."

The most hilarious scene in the show is the "Private Lives" and "Cyrano" mix-up sequence. Laura Ash as the Hays' daughter Roz delivers an energetic portrayal of an actress waiting for her fellow actor to appear onstage, only to find him dressed as Cyrano instead of Elliot. This madcap scene gets laughs from start to finish. Ed Benjamin is Roz's ex-boyfriend and manager of the acting troupe — great chemistry with Laura, and one of his funniest moments comes while trying to get George's pants on while George is drunk.

Rounding out the cast is Matt King as Roz's fiancé Howard the weatherman, Diane Colburn as Eileen the dippy pregnant actress, and Christopher Kibbe as Howard the lawyer whom Charlotte loves — or maybe not. Be sure to catch this crazy, fun-filled show and see a topnotch cast deliver the goods to an appreciative audience.

Theatre Works' final show of their 22nd season is a new musical called "Monky Business". The fun-loving monks of Saint Bernard's monastery are in a jam. Abbot Costello and his four beleaguered brethren have just learned that a real estate developer is about to turn their monastery into a gambling hall called Bernie's Casino Royale. Unless the merry men in brown can raise $250,000 by midnight, they are done for. Luckily, the Brothers have a divine plan — they've rented religious radio station WGOD for the night and are hosting a radiothon fundraiser with plenty of singing, dancing, and vaudeville routines. But unbeknownst to the other four, one of the monks is a devil in disguise and is out to sabotage their plan.

Director Connie Anderson and her musical director pick five topnotch men to fill these roles, plus a talented comic to do the many voices of the offstage characters. Costume designer Sharon Charette creates five authentic monk habits, a monk puppet, and a gorgeous red satin suit for the devil. The many comic moments in the show will keep you entertained all night long.

Paul Adam plays the ever-efficient Brother Brooks who keeps the show running on schedule with his clipboard. His solo is "Long Distance Calling", where he explains how God called him three times before he answered. Kevin Endicott plays the mute Brother Forte who runs the sound effects in the skit "Mayhem in the Monastery". A miracle occurs when Forte finds his voice, finally getting to sing "The Miracle Monk" in the second act. Stage veteran Louie Lamoureux returns as Brother Lee Love, who writes the material for this fundraiser — his absent-minded character is very funny, especially in his risqué number "Celibacy".

Mark Anderson plays the head of the monastery and gets to do a tongue-twisting comic dialogue with Louie about his uncle being a brother, his brother being a father, his sister being a mother superior, and his aunt being a sister. He also gets to sing a beautiful ballad called "People Believed" about St. Bernard and does a great job with it. The radio set by Mark Anderson is perfect for the show.

The scene-stealing actor in this show is Edward Benjamin III as Brother Clarence. His "boss" stops time so he can deliver comic lines and songs to the audience including a duet called "That God Guy". Ed reeks of smarmy charm throughout the show, capturing the essence of evil disguised as good. His change of costume on stage is a hoot and his last exit has a nice vaudeville turn to it. The man behind the many voices is the talented comic Frank O'Donnell, who is hilarious as he wanders through the audience at the start of the show dressed as a priest.

So for a fun-filled evening of religious humor done very comically, be sure to catch "Monky Business" — with its one-liners, humorous jokes, and song and dance numbers.

Theatre Works' final show of their 22nd season is "Monky Business" — a new musical in which the monks of Saint Bernard's monastery must raise $250,000 by midnight or their home becomes Bernie's Casino Royale. Abbot Costello and his four beleaguered brethren have rented religious radio station WGOD for the night and are hosting a radiothon fundraiser with singing, dancing, and vaudeville routines. Unknown to the others, one monk is a devil in disguise — and the race between good and evil is on. Director Connie Anderson finds five topnotch performers for these roles and a talented comic for the many voices of the offstage characters. Sharon Charette creates five authentic monk habits, a monk puppet, and the devil's gorgeous red satin suit. Mark Anderson designed the radio-station set.

Each character gets a moment in the spotlight. Paul Adam plays the ever-efficient Brother Brooks, whose moving ballad "Long Distance Calling" explains how God had to call three times before he answered. Kevin Endicott plays the mute Brother Forte who runs sound effects and finds his voice in a miracle in Act Two. Stage veteran Louie Lamoureux returns to the stage as the absent-minded Brother Lee Love, whose risqué number "Celibacy" is a crowd favorite. Mark Anderson plays the Abbot in a tongue-twisting comic dialogue with Louie about uncles who are brothers and brothers who are fathers. The scene-stealing actor is Edward Benjamin III as Brother Clarence — the devil in disguise — who reeks of smarmy charm throughout, delivering comic lines and songs to the audience with a special-effects assist (red spots, a falling key, a secret exit panel). The man behind the many voices is Frank O'Donnell, whose constant vocal transformations as the show's offstage narrator make you lose count of how many performers are actually in the building — and whose pre-show wandering through the audience in a priest's habit is one of the funniest things in the show. So for a fun-filled evening of religious humor done comically, be sure to catch "Monky Business."