YCP TheaterWorks Stages Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution

Are you ready for a lip-smacking, eye-rolling, stomach-rumbling six-course meal of a play? An intricately plotted courtroom procedural so full of twists and turns it could only have been dreamed up by Agatha Christie? Then mark your calendar for YCP TheaterWorks’ production of Witness for the Prosecution on Jan. 31, Feb. 1, 7, 8 and 15 at 8 pm and Feb. 2, 9 and 16 at 2 pm at the Van Cortlandtville School Theater, Rte. 6, Mohegan Lake, directly across from the Cortlandt Town Center Shopping Mall.  Tickets are $18, adults; $15, seniors and students.  Tickets can be purchased online trough PayPal at a discount, $17/$14, by going to our website www.YCPTW.org or at the door.  Group rates are available. 

To divulge as much of the story as possible without spoiling any of the fun, the gist is that Sir Wilfrid Robarts (Jeff Virgo), a London attorney, is defending Leonard Vole (David Fritsch) who has been charged with murdering an older lady and friend, Miss French.  She was unaware that he was a married man and had named him to receive the bulk of her wealth.  Vole’s wife, Romaine (Tori LaLande) plays a significant role in the court process of determining Vole’s alibi.  Vole admits that he visited Miss French on the night she was killed, but insists that he was home by nine-thirty, the time of death, an alibi that can be confirmed only by Romaine.  But when the lawyers interview Romaine she is, to put it mildly, a little unconvincing.

The rest of the play is given over to the constant unraveling and re-raveling of Leonard’s story. In the courtroom we meet the prosecutor Mr. Myers, O.C. (Scott Faubel), the judge (Joel Karpoff), Vole’s solicitor Mr. Mayhew (Bruce Pearl) and Miss French’s housekeeper Janet McKenzie(Constance Dyckman). Bill Kenyon, Bryelle Burgus, Ellie Fritsch, Joe Manuele, Melody Hockley and Tom Gorman round out the cast.

Director Dan Friedman is also an actor and playwright whose work has appeared in numerous productions up and down the east coast.  His previous directing credits include Room Service, The Good Doctor, Wait Until Dark, Lend Me A Tenor, The Glass Menagerie, Don't Drink The Water and Laughter on the 23rd Floor.  His written work has appeared in festivals across New York State as well as Connecticut, Virginia, Missouri, Florida and Washington, DC.  As an actor, Dan has most recently appeared in productions of The Underpants, Julius Caesar, and Book of Days.  He is a past winner of the Astere E. Clayessens Prize for Playwriting endowed annually by his alma mater, George Washington University.

Visit our website at www.YCPTW.org  for more information.