Spanky Nippletwist

Bristol 2024 -- thank you so much! It was a blast seeing so many new fans and reconnecting with returning ones! Yeah, there was some rain and heat, but all in all, it was a fun way to spend the summer. Safe travels and happy holidays, health, happiness, and prosperity to all until we meet again -- see you next summer!

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Compliment of the weekend:
"You guys are funnier
than live comedy!"

It's that time of year again! Spanky and the rest of the Sturdy Beggars and The Mud Show will be returning to the Bristol Renaissance Faire this weekend, and performing the entire run! Billy Billy von Billy and I will work the pit all season -- joining us in the hilarity for the first four weeks will be none other than Halfwit Henry, as Da Judge. We are delighted to be back and looking forward to seeing all our friends and fans as we launch OUR 45TH SEASON!

I am pleased, honored, and tickled pink to announce that I will be returning to the stage as Torvald in Edge of the Wood's upcoming summer "Studio Series" production of this 2018 play, working again with the wonderful Janet Rourke, Barbara Roeder Harris, and director Grant Killian. Hnath's play takes up the action 15 years after the Ibsen original, with a lighter touch and a more contemporary "feel." There run will be limited to six performances, Wednesday thru Friday evenings, Aug. 14-23. Thanks to Stacey Lind for the cool graphic!

Like the “Twilight Zone”, Edge of the Wood’s “It Is So” Challenges Boundaries of Reality By Rikki Lee Travolta Sean Hargadon is a brilliant theatrical director, highly respected in the city and suburbs of Chicago. Trained at the University of Warwick/Royal Shakespeare Company, he won t…

So proud to be a part of this cast and production. Spanky encourages his fans to come and check out the show -- his last time on the boards before Bristol reopens this July!

OPENING NIGHT! Limited tickets for tonight at 7:30pm remain at edgeofthewood.com. Ample tickets for Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm. Support live, award-winning theatre in Edgebrook!

So proud to be a part of this cast and production -- Spanky's last time onstage before Bristol opens.

OPENING NIGHT! Limited tickets for tonight at 7:30pm remain at edgeofthewood.com. Ample tickets for Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:30pm. Support live, award-winning theatre in Edgebrook!

TWO WEEKS UNTIL OPENING NIGHT! Get your tickets at edgeofthewood.com. Performances run April 5-21.

Doug was one of the first people I befriended when I began working at Renaissance faires oh so many years ago...from his earliest beginnings as one of The Jongleurs, to his signature act of many-years-standing as one half of Don Juan and Miguel. I hadn't seen him for years before we last spent time together in Scarborough at 2006, and it was a joy to reconnect and hang together again. Facebook allowed us to keep in touch, and also brought the sad news that he had passed, leaving behind a rich legacy of friends and fans. I share this image as a salute to an all-around mensch and good guy, and a fellow traveler in comedy, and in solidarity with his closest friends and loved ones now mourning his passing. Adios~

Spanky's off-season alter ego is delighted to be performing as the antagonist in one of his favorite plays...but don't be fooled by the description the theatre offers up. Ibsen suspected he'd written a comedy as much as a drama, and I think this production captures more of the comedic elements than any other I've seen.

An Enemy of the People – Saint Sebastian Players An Enemy of the People by Henrik Ibsen This drama concerns the actions of Doctor Thomas Stockmann, a medical officer charged with inspecting the public baths on which the prosperity of his native town depends. He finds the water to be contaminated. When he refuses to be silenced, he is declared an e...

I'm humbled and flattered to announce that I am now a Resident Artist at
Edge of the Wood Theatre!
Thank you!

Apparently my run as the Mayor in EOTW's THE MINUTES was enough of a success that I've been cast as another mayor, Peter Stockmann, in St. Sebastian Players production of Ibsen's ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE. A nice juicy role, it will be fun to do this after serving as an extra in Robert Falls' production of the same play just a few years ago. The production runs from Feb. 16 thru March 10, with just 12 performances.

Well, here we are, the final weekend of Bristol Renaissance Faire. It's been a fabulous run, lots of newcomers this season, pleasant weather most of the time, and a rollicking good time, and Hack Ptui has once again stepped out of retirement to join us again. I'll be sad to see it come to an end. So come on out and send us off in high gear -- it will be warm and sunny all THREE days, but shouldn't be humid. The Spanky Arms will be open (thanks to Ryan Pfeiffer for the pfoto).

We've been having wonderful shows this season, but today? So much fun, laughter, and energy! Thank you Bristol fans!

Our 44th season begins this Saturday! Spanky and the Gang look forward to seeing you back at Bristol this summer for another glorious run. Up first in our rotation of partners, BillyBilly von Billy and I will see Half Wit Henry essaying the role of judge for the first four weekends.

The reviews are in and Light Up the Sky is a hit! Don’t miss our “Lou recommended” production before it closes on April 8. Tickets at edgeofthewood.com.

Moss Hart's LIGHT UP THE SKY opens Friday, March 24. There's an unrecognizable, gussied-up Spanky behind the sofa, as producer Sidney Black, with Stephen Loch as director Carleton Fitzgerald and Molly Will as leading lady Irene Livingston. Ticket info https://edgeofthewood.com/tickets/

Hello, Mud Show friends and family! I hope this finds you well and doing well and hearkening to spring forward! It's still quite a few months until Bristol reopens, but in the meantime, Spanky has found other employment. I'm delighted to be part of this cast and production at another of my familiar stomping grounds, dusting off a venerable classic. We open in two weeks, and run for three weekends. Please consider checking us out, and bringing your friends to join in the laughs. Ticket [email protected].

Hello, BRF Fans! Meant to post this last weekend when Hack Ptui returned from his 4.5th retirement to rejoin us at the Mudpit, a pic of the jolly sign that greeted him from our neighbors, Bonnie and Allie, across the way at Garden Gothic (with a big assist from Beth at the Garlic booth -- and note the fine print!). We've been having a grand time, and the crowds have gotten bigger as the days of faire have diwindled down to just one more left on the docket. Neither summer's heat nor autumn's early arrival have dampened enthusiasm or attendence. So join us tomorrow for our last Bristol frolic, four fabulous shows with the Beggars Three. Hope to see ya mudside!

Well, Bristol fans, we'll be hitting the halfway mark this weekend; Half-Wit Henry has done his stint and Privey Le Pew will be returning to do his time for this weekend and the following two thereafter. It might be a little steamy on Saturday, so take a hint from us beggars three and make sure you hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate! Privy, I'm sure, will be gargling the swill. And Spanky would like to shout out to Jim Frazier for this image posted on Flickr A DECADE AGO, when my fez was a lot brighter and cleaner!

Thanks to all the returning fans (including the woman who remembered our first mud shows from 1979) and the newbies who came out to frolick and cosplay this past weekend at the Bristol Renaissance Faire. You made a deep impression, so I'd like to return the favor!

Huzzah! Welcome to the 2022 Bristol Renaissance Faire!
Skip the Box Office lines - buy tickets online!
https://renfair.com/bristol/tickets/

Dear friends and fans, Spanky has been remiss in keeping everyone up to date, not that quite a bit has been going on since we parted company last September. Anyway, the mudpit has been prepped, the muditorium spruced up, the fez dusted off -- or redusted -- for opening day this weekend. The Sturdy Beggars will return, and Spanky will be on hand for the duration, from July 9th thru Labor Day, Saturdays and Sundays (and Labor Day Monday). Looking forward to it, this, our 44th SEASON, thanks to YOU! We look forward to fleecin...er, entertaining one and all! Here's to a summer of muddy fun, and light hearts and happy days!