Compton & Bennett is us: Rick Compton and Betsy Bennett, and wow, are we having fun!
Since 1995, we have been writing, singing and laughing together. We've created, produced and performed a dozen or so original theatrical shows for casts from two to sixty. We've played theatres and cabarets, restaurants and Elks Halls, fundraisers and cop funerals. We've entertained SRO audiences and once, a lone and self-conscious couple (it was a dark and stormy night, and they left at intermission, and then we learned the deceptive power of warmed Dark Sambuca…but we digress.)
Our shows are satire. Until 2008, we exclusively mocked the foibles of the overblown politicians, editorialists and developers in Southwest Florida. It is a rich and fertile field.
Then we wrote Assisted Living: The Musical®.
It came out different. It didn't mock people. Instead, it used our same pointed humor and lyric style to explore our future…and your future…and the future of us all.
Immediately, it attracted attention. Big time. Associated Press, BBC, ABC World News kind of attention. So we looked to New York and found producer Douglas Gray. He showed us that, with a little work…No, a lot of work that stretched our skills beyond what we knew we had, we could have a real show. And through two directors, two NYC workshops, ten actors, several stage managers, costumers, a set designer, a dozen previews and a wonderful friend with a NoHo flat, our show opened in San Francisco to better reviews than we could have imagined.
So, we are the luckiest people in the world: we live in paradise, we work at what we love, our colleagues are brilliant and kind, and…well…to everyone who ever frustrated, underestimated or dissed us: Nyah, nyah, na, nyah, nyah.
No. We don't mean that. We love you all. We hope you come see our shows, and we hope we can make you laugh.
Laughter is the topic in the August 2012 issue of Gulfshore Life where we appeared in a wonderful article by Jonathan Foerster and an editorial by David Sendler.
Since 1995, we have been writing, singing and laughing together. We've created, produced and performed a dozen or so original theatrical shows for casts from two to sixty. We've played theatres and cabarets, restaurants and Elks Halls, fundraisers and cop funerals. We've entertained SRO audiences and once, a lone and self-conscious couple (it was a dark and stormy night, and they left at intermission, and then we learned the deceptive power of warmed Dark Sambuca…but we digress.)
Our shows are satire. Until 2008, we exclusively mocked the foibles of the overblown politicians, editorialists and developers in Southwest Florida. It is a rich and fertile field.
Then we wrote Assisted Living: The Musical®.
It came out different. It didn't mock people. Instead, it used our same pointed humor and lyric style to explore our future…and your future…and the future of us all.
Immediately, it attracted attention. Big time. Associated Press, BBC, ABC World News kind of attention. So we looked to New York and found producer Douglas Gray. He showed us that, with a little work…No, a lot of work that stretched our skills beyond what we knew we had, we could have a real show. And through two directors, two NYC workshops, ten actors, several stage managers, costumers, a set designer, a dozen previews and a wonderful friend with a NoHo flat, our show opened in San Francisco to better reviews than we could have imagined.
So, we are the luckiest people in the world: we live in paradise, we work at what we love, our colleagues are brilliant and kind, and…well…to everyone who ever frustrated, underestimated or dissed us: Nyah, nyah, na, nyah, nyah.
No. We don't mean that. We love you all. We hope you come see our shows, and we hope we can make you laugh.
Laughter is the topic in the August 2012 issue of Gulfshore Life where we appeared in a wonderful article by Jonathan Foerster and an editorial by David Sendler.
copyright compton & bennett inc. 2008
All rights reserved
All rights reserved
