(L-R) Cathy Overfelt, Melissa Hemann-Dalton, Kevin Gay, Joseph Smith

Melissa Hemann-Dalton, Joseph Smith, Kevin Gay

Sundog Theatre, Staten Island’s new North Shore resident acting company, is premiering with an original comedy in October. Jason’s Journey, written by Steven Somerville, is a story about a lawyer. This one, however, quits his job to write "the definitive novel of the millennium" – only to be challenged by an unforeseen cavalcade of comedic events.

Performances run through October at the Muddy Cup Coffee House Theatre, 388 Van Duzer St. in Stapleton Heights. The show stars Kevin Gay, Melissa Hemann, Catherine Overfelt, Joseph Smith, and Robert Wilson Hancock in the two-act comedy.

Sundog Theatre was created to present contemporary and classic theatre to Staten Island audiences with an emphasis on original works and developing playwrights. In addition to its regular productions, the Theatre plans to develop outreach and mentor programs for young people in 2003. Sundog’s management team has decades of professional experience in producing, operating, performing, and teaching theatre.

For its initial production, Sundog sought a theatre space on the North Shore of the Island. The Theatre didn’t have to search long. Muddy Cup owners Jim Svetz and Robb Huddleston had just converted the popular coffee house’s back room -- an old bakery -- into a 75-seat theatre with stage, lighting, and sound system. Sundog’s artistic director, Susan Fenley, saw the theatre and fell in love with it: “It was the perfect place to stage our first show -- and to inaugurate the Muddy Cup as a theatre. The theatre’s ambiance and size are ideal for this original comedy, which is set in a cabin.” The room sports distressed brick walls, wood floors and beams, skylights, and comfortable seating. “It looks like a playhouse right out of Greenwich Village,” states Robb Huddleston. “One of our dreams was to be able to present theatre in this space.” With Sundog, that dream has become a reality. The play runs October 3-20, 2002.

Director: Thomas Uhm
Producer: Susan Fenley
Set & Light Design: Stephen Fehr

(photos: Jan Somma-Hammell)