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Arts & Entertainment

Village Players Debuts 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels' Tonight

The Birmingham Village Players say this is a great show to kick back, relax and enjoy the humor.

Cast members of ’ production of are gearing up for what many refer to as the funniest performance they have ever been a part of.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which debuts tonight at 8 p.m., is a musical revolving around the lives of two con artists, Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson. A series of bets bring the con men to fighting for the money and affection of Christina Colgate.

“With all of the stresses in today’s world right now, it’s fun to go out and see a show that will just make you laugh,” cast member, Jennifer Jones of Rochester Hills, said. “This is the funniest show I’ve ever been a part of.”

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Jones plays the part of Colgate and said she thoroughly enjoys the role, noting she can oftentimes relate to her fun, carefree and sometimes ditzy ways.

The group of 19 actors have been rehearsing the musical since early March. Many members of the cast have been part of previous productions, while for some it is their first experience with The Village Players. According to director Mark Carley, there are a large number of dance routines that the cast, and specifically the ensemble, had to learn.

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“We have a lot of really good dancers in this show,” Carley said. “In my experience directing it’s not hard to find singers, but it is hard to find dancers.”

Ensemble member and Troy resident, Jude Purcell, who plays a variety of smaller parts including the butler, cowboy and a tourist is enjoying learning how to move to the rhythm. As a member of the board of directors for the Village Players, Purcell has been in his fair share of performances and said that dancing has never been one of his favorite parts of a production, but enjoys the several of the dances in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

“I’m taking to dancing quite a bit this time — it might be the tunes,” Purcell said. “I think it’s a ridiculously funny show, I get a kick out of it and the lyrics are extremely humorous.”

Purcell credited choreographer Sarah Kwas for making the dance numbers so flavorful. This is Kwas’ first time choreographing a performance for The Village Players, though she has choreographed other performances and taught lessons outside of the theater.

“There are several large dance numbers that run the gamut of ballroom to country western hoedown to a disco dance fever kind of number — it’s all very fun,” Kwas said. “It’s humorous and it’s unexpected and every dance number has an element of surprise.”

Just like the dancing, Carley said that the sets — an elaborate tropical environment — were quite complex, but they were lucky enough to have an architect as part of their team able to make the scenery come to life.

“We’re quite proud of it,” Carley said. “It’s big, very nicely decorated and very close to what I envisioned.”

Tickets for the performance of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels are $18 per person and can be purchased by calling 248-644-2075 or visiting its website at www.birminghamvillageplayers.com. Performance dates and times are 8 p.m. on May 13, 14, 20, 21, 27 and 28 and 2 p.m. on May 22 and 29. 

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