Date: Friday, June 6 Location: 225 W 99th Street, New York, NY 10025 Time:
6:00 PM – Charley’s Aunt
6:45 PM – Intermission
7:00 PM – The Bald Soprano
Admission:
Free admission for currently enrolled RCS families
$20 per person for guests
About the Shows:
Charley’s Aunt Written in 1892 by Brandon Thomas, Charley’s Aunt is a classic English farce full of mistaken identities, romantic mishaps, and over-the-top disguises. The story revolves around two Oxford students who convince their friend to impersonate a wealthy aunt from Brazil—setting off a series of hilarious complications. With witty dialogue, fast-paced action, and absurd situations, it remains one of the most performed comedies in the English-speaking world.
The Bald Soprano A cornerstone of the Theatre of the Absurd, The Bald Soprano was written by French playwright Eugène Ionesco in 1948. The title came from a rehearsal slip-up and stuck. Ionesco came up with the idea while learning English, finding the clichés and banalities of textbook dialogues unintentionally comical. These trivial phrases, spoken by “typical English” characters Mr. and Mrs. Smith, felt like a parody of real communication. Originally considering several dramatic endings, Ionesco chose to have the play loop back to the beginning, suggesting the characters are interchangeable and their dialogue endlessly repetitive—both funny and deeply unsettling.