Hudson Players’ 78th season begins Oct. 28 with ‘Something Rotten’

by Judy Stringer

Hudson Players kicks off what it hopes will be its first full season since 2018-2019 with the opening of “Something Rotten,” which runs Oct. 28-Nov. 19.

Board President Gary Maher said the local theater troupe selected performances that will be “upbeat” for its 2022-2023 running.

“There’s a lot going on,” he said. “We want folks to just have a nice night where they can laugh and enjoy themselves. That’s important.”

The opening of “Something Rotten” – the 2014 musical parody of Shakespeare’s Elizabethan age, bad-boy bard behavior – is a holdover from early 2022, when performances were postponed due to COVID.

Hudson Players celebrated its 75th anniversary in March 2020, just before canceling the remainder of that season with the onset of the pandemic. It forwent a 76th season as social-distancing restrictions remained in place, and last season managed to stage two of three planned shows.

“We think that hopefully things are at least to a point now where we’ll be able to get in a nice full season and let our audiences enjoy our productions,” said Maher. He added that attendance last season was “very close” to pre-COVID levels.

Neil Simon’s “Laughter on the 23rd Floor” is Hudson Player’s second production this season. Maher said the company has performed the autobiographical play before, but not for many years. It focuses on the star and writers of a comedy-variety TV show in the late ’50s. Performance dates are Feb. 3-25.

Peter Quilter’s “Glorious” takes the stage as the season finale from April 28-May 20. This one is a newbie, Maher said, for both Hudson Players and local audiences.  

“I don’t know that I’ve seen it done in the area, so this is going to be a treat for area theater-goers,” he said. “It’s a true story based on the worst opera singer in the world and should be fun for folks to attend.”

Performances take place at Barlow Community Center, 41 S. Oviatt St., on Friday and Saturday nights with selected Sunday matinees. Regular admission is $15, and $12 tickets are available for students and seniors. Season passes cost $33. Tickets can be found online at hudsonplayers.com. The information telephone line is 330-655-8522.

Masks are encouraged but not required, according to Maher. ∞

Photo: The cast of Hudson Players’ “Something Rotten” rehearses for the season opener, which runs weekends from Oct.28-Nov. 19.