By ANNE GELHAUS
For its 20th summer season, Sunnyvale's California Theatre Center is producing comedies that deal with magic, Moriarty and Molière.
The CTC is staging three plays that will run in repertory through July 28. Two of these shows, Bell, Book and Candle and Sherlock's Last Case, have already opened; the third, Molière's The Miser, is set for a June 26 opening.
Bell, Book and Candle is a romantic comedy about Gillian (Lisa Mallette), a witch who casts a spell over Shep (Shawn Whitty) to spite his fiancée, an old rival of hers. Gillian finds herself in trouble when she starts falling in love with Shep, an emotion that could cause her to lose her magical powers. John Van Druten's script for this show was the basis for the television series Bewitched!
In Sherlock's Last Case, the famous fictional detective (Will Huddleston) receives a death threat from the son of his arch-nemisis, the late Dr. Moriarty. Through a series of plot twists, Holmes is introduced to his doppelgänger (William Hicks), who may prove more of a threat to him than Moriarty ever was. Charles Marowitz's script combines humor and suspense, giving the audience a chance to figure out "whodunit."
The Miser, Molière's classic farce, features Huddleston as Harpagon, an old man who keeps a tight rein on both his money and his children. The comedy centers around people's attempts to divest him of the former and marry the latter. The CTC is staging this play as a follow-up to last year's production of Molière's The Servant of Two Masters.
All CTC performances are at the Sunnyvale Community Center Theatre, 550 E. Remington Ave. Single tickets are $12-$18, and a season subscription runs $31-$45. For reservations and show times, call 720-0873.
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 19, 1996.
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