Triangle show spoofs Hollywood film industry

Triangle Show

Seniors Megan McGowan and Jake Van Naarden star in the Triangle Club's 115th annual production, "Excess Hollywood," at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at McCarter Theatre.

Seniors Megan McGowan and Jake Van Naarden star in the Triangle Club's 115th annual production, "Excess Hollywood," at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at McCarter Theatre.

Below left: This year's show is a political and cultural satire of the Hollywood film industry. In December, the troupe will take "Excess Hollywood" on tour to New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.
 

Photos: John Jameson

The Princeton Triangle Club, the nation's oldest collegiate musical-comedy troupe, will present its fall show, "Excess Hollywood," at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at McCarter Theatre.

The club, founded in 1891, is presenting its 115th annual production, a political and cultural satire of the Hollywood film industry. In December, the troupe will take "Excess Hollywood" on tour to New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Cincinnati and Indianapolis.

Three Princeton and Triangle Club alumni are returning as members of the professional artistic team for the show.

"Triangle boasts a long list of alumni who have graduated to eminence in the creative arts, and these three -- Peter Mills, David Kaley and Jesse Liebman -- represent the caliber of talent that Triangle has produced in recent years," said Triangle Chair Kendall Crolius, a 1976 alumnus.

Music Director Peter Mills, a 1995 alumnus, is a composer and lyricist based in New York City, and a founding member of Prospect Theater Company. He received the 2003 Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award from the ASCAP Foundation and a 2002 grant from the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation. Most recently, he wrote "The Pursuit of Persephone," a new musical about F. Scott Fitzgerald's college years at Princeton. His other musicals include "Lonely Rhymes," "The Alchemists," "Illyria" (which was produced at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey), "The Taxi Cabaret" and "The Flood."

Triangle Show

Costume Designer David Kaley, a 1997 alumnus, is the assistant costume shop supervisor for TheatreworksUSA, a children's theater based in New York. His recent projects include "Silence! The Musical," "Joy," "NEWSical," "Pinter Project: The Birthday Party/The Homecoming" and "Broadway Bares XV."

Rounding out the trio is Assistant Director Jesse Liebman, a member of Princeton's class of 2003. During his undergraduate years, Liebman acted in and wrote for three Triangle shows. He currently is enrolled in the New Actor's Workshop, a two-year conservatory program in New York.

Acclaimed New York director Mark Waldrop, who is perhaps best known for writing the book and lyrics and directing Howard Crabtree's "When Pigs Fly," will direct the Triangle Club's production.

Tickets are free with Passport to the Arts passes, $7.50 for students and $20 to $30 for general admission. They are available on the McCarter Web site or at the theater's box office, (609) 258-ARTS.