Midnight At Puss Creek US Tour Dates:
May 20th Weaver Auditorium, Hartford CT 8PM
May 21st Brooklyn College, NY 8PM
May 22nd John Hancock Hall, Boston MA 6:30PM
May 27th York College, Queens NY 8PM
May 28th Cicely Tyson School, East Orange NJ 8PM
May 29th Lehman College, Bronx NY 6PM

For more information, please call:
NY, NJ, CT – 718-941-1879
BOSTON – 617-282-1234

“The actor, who has appeared in at least 50 hit theatrical productions to date, including 13 LTM pantomimes, appearing alongside theatre icons, Louise Bennett-Coverly and Ranny Williams — Miss Lou and Mass Ran, is arguably Jamaica’s most compelling theatre voice with a colourful mastery for the Jamaican style,” … more

House Arrest is the third annual summer production of Manna Entertainment. The two previous ones were Moon River and Dream Merchant, and from all indications, House Arrest may very well be the most hilarious of the three.

According to playwright Adrian Nelson, “the previous productions received rave reviews from both local and international critics, who referred to them as a refreshing change to local theatre. We have been very successful in creating a new style of drama which caters to a niche market of the theatre goers, who are not just looking for comic relief, but for a play with substance and inspiring moments. The only difference with House Arrest is that theatre goers can expect a whole lot more laughter.”

“Dis ya one gwey have the city under lock and key …. no, not curfew, lock and key,” laughed veteran actor Oliver Samuels. “As Adrian says, our previous productions have always had lots of laughs, but we were more focused on a strong motivational and inspirational message. The intent is the same with House Arrest, but unuh jaw bone gwey hot unuh when unuh done watch dah play yah, cause unuh gwey laugh from start to finish.”

House Arrest boasts an interesting and unusual mix of ‘uptown’, traditional and roots theatre actors – namely Felisha Lord, Nadean Rawlings, Ronald Goshop and Tesfa Edwards – which guarantees a flamboyant journey that is cleverly brought to life by veteran director, Carol Lawes.

The play tells the story of a rookie cop who gets a rude awakening when a man that he sent to jail three months ago escapes. The unsuspecting escapee takes refugee in a house, only to later realize that it is the home of the same cop that he claims wrongfully sent him to jail. He takes the entire family hostage, and now the cop has to race against time to outwit and topple the vengeful fugitive – before he begins to exact his revenge on the entire family.

House Arrest plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and on Sundays at 6 p.m.
Venue – Theatre Place, Haining Road, New Kingston

For more information about House Arrest, please call 908-0040 or 865-9844.

Locations and dates:
Friday May 7 @ 8 p.m.
- Chinguacousy Sec School, Brampton
Saturday May 8 @ 8 p.m. and Sunday May 9 @ 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Sir John McDonald C.I., Scarborough

Tickets are $30 advance and $35 at the door.

Most popular West Indian stores will have tickets. Please check the one nearest you for more information, or call 905-887-3297/ 905-450-5831.

One is a fluke, two a coincidence, three a trend. For those keeping count, Patrick Brown’s newly remounted play, Puppy Love, is (at least) the fourth recent Jamaican production to feature a May-December romance. (That’s where one partner is way younger than the other, like Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft in The Graduate.) The other three are Dream Merchant by Adrian Nelson, Me and Mi Chapsie by Aston Cooke and White Witch by Jane Crichton … more

“Truth be told, I have not done many naturalistic pieces over the years, and as such, Puppy Love represented a real challenge for me personally” said Samuels after playing to a full house at the Pantry Playhouse on opening night – last week Wednesday, March 24, 2010.

He went on to add that “we had six weeks of grueling rehearsals under the skillful directing of Patrick Brown and Trevor Nairne – easily two of the best directors with whom I’ve worked. They pushed us beyond areas we never imagined we could have reached, let alone surpass. It is such a wonderful feeling now that the public has had a chance to see the product of our labour of love, and is enjoying it so much. The feeling an actor gets from this sort of actualization is truly amazing“.

Get an overview of Puppy Love here.

Puppy Love is centered around a sultry and precocious 18 year old – Karen ‘Kar Kar’ Cross (played by Natalee Cole), who, under the influence of peer pressure, becomes romantically involved with her father’s best friend, Dick (played by Oliver Samuels), a man who is fast-approaching 60 years of age.

The romantic intrigue creates a nightmare for her overly protective father, Harry Cross (played by Earle Brown), who, when he finds out about his daughter’s relationship with his friend, swears that he has been double-crossed. The situation drives a wedge between the two men, who apart from being best friends for years, are also business partners.

Dick tries desperately to repel Karen’s predatory advances, but weakens and gets sucked in by her alluring and disarming charm, and stunningly beautiful and nubile body.

After years of a boring marriage, this unexpected attention is like a breath of fresh air, and Dick inhales perhaps a little too much. Harry too, finds himself in a quandary, as his ongoing liaisons with girls of Karen’s age rob him of a solid moral ground on which to base his objections.

Dick’s wife of 30 years, Denise (played by Dahlia Harris), turns out to be the only hope for a stabilizing agent in a confused situation, but she too faces her own moments of indecision. Does she walk away from her party of 30-odd years because of his indiscretion, or does she stand by her man irrespective?

Patrick Brown answers some of the piercing questions, and leaves others for the audience to ponder.

Puppy Love opens tomorrow, March 24, for a three week run at the Pantry Playhouse on Dumfries Road in New Kingston. After this, it will embark on an overseas tour, with stops in Canada, the USA and the Eastern Caribbean.