Madison graduation 2012
Warren County CC graduation
New Miami graduation 2012
Home > Blogs > Things to do in Butler County > Archives > 2009 > September > 11 > Entry
Mark Hardy goes to the light side in ‘Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,’ through Sept. 20
“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 3 p.m. Sunday, through Sept. 20 at the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center, 1028 Scott Blvd., Covington, Ky. $25 adults, $18 students. (859) 957-1940; www.thecarnegie.com.
After a career on Broadway playing a lot of “dark, serious pieces,” Mark Hardy is glad to move over to the light side with Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center’s production of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.”
Based on the popular 1988 film of the same name featuring Steve Martin and Michael Caine (Hardy’s part), “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” portrays two shameless con men and a hapless American heiress locked in an uproarious dance of disguise, deception, and deceit against the luxurious backdrop of the French Riviera. With $50,000 and territorial rights going to the winner, all bets are off as masochistic German doctors are impersonated, live goldfish are eaten, and “love sneaks in” unwittingly on even the cleverest of cons.
“The play follows the movie pretty closxely, but with musical numbers taking the place of certain scenes,” Hardy said. “If people love the movie, this is the main thru-line with some pretty good tunes. It’s updated a little bit to make the sense of humor a little more current, a little more hip.”
Hardy’s Broadway and national touring credits “Les Miserables,” “Titanic” and “A New Brain.” Currently, he is a professor at Northern Kentucky University, where he has directed many critically acclaimed productions, including “The Women.”
“After 18 years in New York, I got the teaching bug and went to grad school at age 41,” Hardy said. “Since I teach performance classes, it’s important for me to perform myself in order to be fresh and honest as a teacher.”
Alan Patrick Kenny, former artistic director of the recently defunct New Stage Collective, directs the production, which also features
Kenny’s interest in the production stems from the colorful characters and the sense of fun that exudes from the show.
“’Scoundrels’ is the ultimate con artist caper, and how much fun it is to ‘get taken’ while on vacation,” Kenny said in a press release. “It celebrates two swindlers who couldn’t be more different joining forces to get the big score, and having a ball while doing it.”
Joining Hardy on stage is Charlie Clark, Alaina Mills, Edwin Large and Aretta Baumgartner.
PHOTO: Charlie Clark, Alaina Mills and Mark Hardy. Photo by Matt Steffen.
Permalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment | Categories: Carnegie Center, Theater
Tweet
Comments