Fool Moon Theatre History

Fool Moon Theatre Company’s first production was A.R. Gurney’s comedic masterpiece Sylvia, performed at the Ventnor Trinity United Methodist Church

in November 2005.    The hilarious, charming story tells the tale of a romantic triangle—a man, his wife, and his beloved dog, Sylvia. Ed Wismer, of the Ocean City Sentinel, called the production “uproarious” and “an admirable first outing.”   Death Defying Acts, a show comprised of the one-act plays written by Woody Allen, David Mamet, and Elaine May, followed in February 2006.  The plays took place at a suicide prevention hotline, a Central Park West apartment and Hell, where a lawyer experiences a pre-entrance interview by Satan.  The production solidified the company’s reputation for producing first-rate edgy comedies. 

 “Stellar performances” highlighted Fool Moon’s third production, the enchanting, classic musical of star-crossed lovers, The Fantasticks” in May. The sold-out show was the first production at the Margate Community Church , where the troupe continues to reside.  Lorenda Knisel, The Current, called it “another sterling production for the Fool Moon Theatre.”  November 2006 brought Fool Moon’s revival of William Inge’s classic American love story, Bus Stop, a tale of love and redemption in a dingy, Mid-Western diner.

Wrigley Field was the setting of Fool Moon’s fifth production, Bleacher Bums, written by Joe Mantegna and Dennis Franz, and performed in May 2007.  The comedy tells the tales of a motley group of Chicago Cubs fans who live and die with the team’s fortunes.  The wacky Bleacher Bums takes place in the bleachers of Chicago's Wrigley Field. The characters are a bunch of Chicago Cubs fans, watching a game in progress on a summer afternoon.  Scott Cronick directed..

Fool Moon Theatre revisited the wacky, witty world of A.R. Gurney in April 2008 with the production of The Dining Room.  The play is comprised of vignettes, with 57 characters ranging in age from 4 to 80 years old, (played by only 5 actors) all taking place during 50 years in an American dining room. The action is a mosaic of interrelated scenes—some funny, some touching, some rueful—which, taken together, create an in-depth portrait of a vanishing species: the upper-middle-class WASP.  Ed Wismer, the Ocean City Sentinel, called the Fool Moon production a “gratifyingly crazy, comic romp” with a cast of “consummate comic specialists.”

Beau Jest, produced in October 2007, tells the hilarious, charming story of mistaken identities.  To make her parents happy, a Jewish girl creates a pretend Jewish doctor boyfriend and hires a Gentile actor to play the part.   Written by James Sherman, “Beau Jest” was noted for its combination of warm, family humor and wacky farce.  This show marked Dave Somers debut as a director for Fool Moon Theatre..

Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys starred Rich McMahan and Dave Somers as the cantakerous vaudevillians in Fool Moons big hit in April 2010.  The comedy, directed by Paul Herron, was marvelous mixture of side-splitting hilarity and true pathos, as only Neil Simon could write.