LOCAL COMEDIANS POPPY CHAMPLIN, DOREEN COLLINS, AND FRANK O’DONNELL TO HOST LATE NIGHT CABARET AT THEATRE BY THE SEA
WAKEFIELD, RI – Theatre By The Sea owner and producer Bill Hanney is thrilled to welcome three of Rhode Island’s most popular comedians, Poppy Champlin, Doreen Collins, and Frank O’Donnell as the hosts of the Late Night Cabaret, held at the theatre’s on-site restaurant, Bravo By The Sea.
“I love the Late Night Cabaret,” said Bill Hanney. “I am so happy we are finally able to bring it back this season and not with just one or two hosts, but this year, for the 90th Anniversary, we’re having three hosts! I can’t wait!”
Poppy Champlin is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island with a BFA in Theatre. She went on to the famed Chicago Second City, and then won the title of America’s Funniest Real Woman on “The Joan Rivers Show.” With a stellar stand-up career ranging from Rhode Island to New York to California, Champlin uses all of her God given talent on the stage. Poppy is thrilled to be back at Theatre By The Sea and the Late Night Cabaret, because musical comedy is really where she thrives. Another milestone for Poppy: on May 20, 2023, she was inducted into the Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Fame.
Doreen Collins, an NYU theater major and 40-year SAG-AFTRA member, is the first female inducted into the Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Fame. She is the producer of the annual all-female comedy show, The Ladies Room, promoting female comics and female owned businesses. Doreen produced, directed, and hosted the award-winning late night comedy show, “Rhode Bytes,” as well as “The UnReal Deal,” for WJAR NBC10. Doreen was a cast member of the long-running political musical satire Charlie Hall’s Ocean State Follies. She and Charlie still perform together doing a comedy cabaret called Aging Disgracefully. She also recently published her first book, Confessions of a Working Girl or How to Get Laid (OFF).
Frank O’Donnell is excited to return to the Late Night Cabaret. Inducted to Rhode Island’s Comedy Hall of Fame in 2014, Frank has been performing stand-up comedy for more than 40 years. He’s opened for acts like Chicago and Michael Bolton, and he’s written jokes for the late Bob Hope and the current Jay Leno, (but many years ago). Frank is also an actor, with three professional shows and countless community theater performances under his belt. Favorite roles include Big Jule in Guys & Dolls, Joseph Pulitzer in Newsies, and Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar. Frank has written and directed several holiday shows which have been produced at area theaters. He is president of the Keri Anne O’Donnell Memorial Fund, providing scholarships and grants to young people with a passion for performance.
#KeepingPassionForPerformanceAlive.
Poppy Champlin, Doreen Collins, and Frank O’Donnell will be hosting the popular Late Night Cabaret on alternating weekends at Bravo By The Sea following evening performances at Theatre By The Sea on select Friday and Saturday evenings beginning on June 23. Reservations are strongly recommended for the cabaret and can be made by calling (401) 789-3030.
Tickets for productions being presented as part of Theatre By The Sea’s 90th Anniversary, including Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Bodyguard, and Jersey Boys, are currently on sale at the box office Monday through Saturday from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm and performance days from 11:00 am until curtain, (performance Sundays 12 noon until curtain), online 24-hours-a-day at www.theatrebythesea.com and via telephone during normal box office hours by calling (401) 782-TKTS (8587).
Theatre By The Sea has had many incarnations since opening on August 7, 1933. Tommy Brent saved the theatre from demolition in 1967 and ran it successfully until FourQuest Entertainment took over the lease in 1988. Following extensive renovations, FourQuest reopened the theatre in the spring of 1989 and continued producing high quality entertainment at the seaside playhouse until the fall of 2003. Bill Hanney purchased the property in 2007 and, with producing partners, successfully mounted a production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, just six weeks later, reopening the historic theatre on August 8, 2007. Since then, Theatre By The Sea has continued to produce a four-musical subscription season, a late-night cabaret series, a children’s theatre festival, and a children’s summer theatre camp.
AT A GLANCE
EVENT:
Late Night Cabaret
DATES: June 23 – September 9
Bravo By The Sea on the grounds at Theatre By The Sea
364 Card’s Pond Road
Wakefield, RI
PERFORMANCE TIMES:
Friday, June 23 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Saturday, June 24 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Friday, June 30 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Saturday, July 1 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Friday, July 7 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Saturday, July 8 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Friday, July 21 following the 8:00 pm performance (Doreen Collins)
Saturday, July 22 following the 8:00 pm performance (Doreen Collins)
Friday, July 28 following the 8:00 pm performance (Surprise Guest Host)
Saturday, July 29 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Friday, August 4 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Saturday, August 5 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Friday, August 18 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Saturday, August 19 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Friday, August 25 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Saturday, August 26 following the 8:00 pm performance (Frank O’Donnell)
Friday, September 1 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Saturday, September 2 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Friday, September 8 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
Saturday, September 9 following the 8:00 pm performance (Poppy Champlin)
RESERVATIONS: 401) 789-3030