WOONSOCKET — Theatre Works announced the opening of its 31st season with "King O' the Moon," written by Tom Dudzik and directed by Lynn Nadrowski, opening Friday, Sept. 13 and running through Sunday, Sept. 22.

The hilarious and heartfelt sequel to Dudzik's "Over the Tavern" — which Theatre Works presented in the spring of 2009 — the Pazinski family has left the conservative 1950s for the rebellious 1960s. As Apollo 11 is about to land on the moon, the family gathers to honor their late father's memory, and they quickly become entangled in each other's problems: Rudy is re-thinking the priesthood; Eddie is preparing for fatherhood and Vietnam; and Annie is contemplating divorce as their mother Ellen considers a new romance.

The cast included: Eric Moberg of Putnam, Conn., as Rudy; Ryan DiOrio of Cumberland as Eddie; Michael Campbell of North Providence as Georgie; Karen Bessette DiOrio of Cumberland as Ellen; Bill Beatini of Providence as Walter; and Shaela Keogh-Walker of Providence as Maureen.

Showtimes were 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. for Sunday matinees. Theatre Works was located in the Masonic Temple, 142 Clinton St.

WOONSOCKET - Theatre Works, 142 Clinton Street, will present "A Christmas Carmella" on Friday-Saturday, Dec. 6-7 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m.; and Friday-Saturday, Dec. 13-14 at 8 p.m., and Sunday Dec. 15 at 2 p.m.

What's a grandma to do when the grandkids want to hear the Dickens classic "A Christmas Carol," but she doesn't have the book anymore? If you're Carmella Zucchero Focaccia, better known as the mother-in-law of Ant'ny Claus, you tell it from memory. And when memory fails, you fill in the blanks.

"A Christmas Carmella," is the spin-off from the Ant'ny Claus holiday tales of the past two years.

Tickets are $19/adults; $15/seniors. For reservations, call 401-766-1898.

By Frank O'Donnell, Valley Breeze Entertainment Writer

Last December, when "Ant'ny Claus 2: A Dysfunctional Family Sequel" was wrapping up, everyone asked me what would be next. Honestly, I had no idea. It's the same thing I said after "Ant'ny Claus: A Dysfunctional Family Christmas" the year before. I had no idea what would come next, because each time, it felt like the story was complete. And until this spring, I still thought that.

But then one of the characters from the Ant'ny saga bumped squarely into another idea that's been bouncing around in my brain for a while: to produce a Rhode Island parody of the Charles Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol." Wouldn't it be interesting if this story everyone knows was told a little differently by someone like Carmella Foccaccia, Ant'ny Claus' mother-in-law. And just like that, "A Christmas Carmella" was born. Not a sequel, really. More a spin-off.

Only three characters from the original plays are found here: Carmella, played by Connie Anderson; and Holly and Sonny, played by Hailey O'Connor and Padraig Mahoney. All the other characters are new — but recognizable, thanks to Mister Dickens. We have Scrugini (Mark Anderson), Cracciatore (John Morris), Fredo (Bobby Ricci), Fuzziwig (Bill Beatini) and Bella (Sarah Blodgett). Parodies of the characters found in the classic telling of the story.

The plot is simple. Carmella's grandkids, Sonny and Holly, want their grandmother to read them "A Christmas Carol," simply for the sake of nostalgia. Carmella would love to, except she gave the book to her senior center. But, she's willing to tell the story from memory as best as she can. So Scrooge becomes Scrugini, the action moves from London to North Providence, and we're off to the races. Carmella serves as narrator, and plays the four ghosts as well.

With Mark Anderson accepting a lead role in "A Christmas Carmella," directing duties fell on me. Mark was co-director on the first two, and thankfully, I learned a lot from him in those two years. Not that I'm alone in this new one. Part of the fun for me is encouraging the actors to have fun with the show, to feel free to improvise around the lines. If something better comes up, we'll throw it in. The running joke around rehearsals is that we put the "working" in the term "working script."

Theatre Works presented "A Christmas Carmella" December 6–15 inside the Masonic Temple on Clinton Street in Woonsocket.

WOONSOCKET - The Neil Simon Comedy "Laughter on the 23rd Floor" is playing now through March 22 at Theatre Works, 142 Clinton St.

Show time is 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday.

This 1950s play was inspired by the playwright's youthful experience as a staff writer on Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows," with all the attendant comic drama as the harried writing staff frantically scrambles to top each other with gags while competing for the attention of star madman "Max Prince."

Directed by Mark Anderson, the show features a funny and talented cast of actors, including Frank O'Donnell, John Morris, Sarah Blodgett, Steven Slate, Bobby Ricci, Padraig "Paddy" Mahoney, Billy Castro, Kyle DeMartino and Corrie Ignagni.

Tickets are $19 for adults and $15 for seniors 62 and older. This show is not suitable for children as there is adult language throughout. For reservations, call 401-766-1898.

By Frank O'Donnell, Valley Breeze Entertainment Writer

Lee Rush was in Woonsocket late in the summer of 2013 for the staged reading of a play when Theatre Works' Connie Anderson came to her. “She told me they were looking for ideas for their May show,” says Rush. “I told her I'd go through my archives. And then she said, 'If you'd like to direct, we'd love to have you.'”

So Rush went home and did some digging. “I don't do serious very well,” she says, “so I thought a comedy was the way to go.” She remembered a show she'd done at Mill River Dinner Theater in Central Falls years ago called “Nobody's Perfect.”

“It's a romantic comedy. Sort of 'Mrs. Doubtfire' with a twist,” says Rush to describe the play she's now directing at Theatre Works. She presented the idea to Anderson, who ordered the script for review, and called Rush after reading the play. “'It's delightful,' she said. 'We'll do it.'”

“Funny thing,” says Rush. “My version of the script was British.” So when Rush assembled the breakdown of characters she'd be looking for at audition, she wrote “British accent preferred. And then Connie said, 'What do you mean?' It takes place in Los Angeles.' And I said, 'No, it takes place in a London flat.'”

The script had been Americanized since Rush last performed it. “Surprise. I'm directing an American rom-com.”

The show's main character is a writer who enters a contest for women only. When he wins, he has to show up as a woman to collect his prize. “It's a show about duality,” says Rush. “There's the part of us we show to the world, and the part we wish we could be. Each character maintains a duality. We discuss it as cast and director quite a bit.”

Rush enjoys the size of the show — just four actors. “In some ways, it's easier. With just a few people, you don't lose someone when you're blocking scenes on paper. But it's also more difficult, because with just a few people on stage at the same time, they have to capture the audience's focus with less to work with.”

Rush counts herself lucky to have some seasoned performers in the cast, actors with whom she's worked in the past: Laura Benjamin, Paul Oliver and Alex Aponte. “I expect nothing but perfection from them,” says Rush. She's only half-kidding.

The fourth performer is Katrina Claflin, a relative newcomer. She did perform as one of the Gemini Twins in Theatre Works' production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” two seasons ago. “She's predominantly a musical theater person,” says Rush. “This was a bit of a switch for her, but she has a real knack for understanding what's asked of her and conveying it to the audience.”

Rush truly enjoys the show. “It's an easy show, it's a lovely show, it's a funny show. Everybody's all grump because it's been raining and cold. So why not spring into summer with a lark at Theatre Works?”

Yes, she did actually say that.

“Nobody's Perfect” runs through May 18 at Theatre Works in Woonsocket. Call 401-766-1898 or visit www.twri.org for information.