Play It Again, Ray, At the Mac-Haydn

The Shook sisters have been onstage since Kelly was 3 and Karla, 4. That’s when their mother took them to an audition for “Carousel” at the Mac-Haydn Theatre in Chatham, NY. In the 20 or so years since, they have totally abandoned the idea of making their livelihoods in any other way and have spent so much time performing that neither one can look at a camera without flashing the bright eyes and the big smile. “Musical comedy is a good fit for me,” Karla says, which is probably why she is playing Sadie in Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley’s (TriArts founders both) “I Love a Piano” at the Mac-Haydn this summer. This Irving Berlin, six-person revue has history. It debuted in 1992 (in a frenetic and entertaining production at the Sharon Playhouse) back when the youthful Shooks were probably still annoying their parents by wearing grungy denims and green sneakers. It ran at regional theaters in Minneapolis and Denver. And by the time it was touring coast to coast (with a stop in Pittsfield in 2002 some may remember), Karla was playing Sadie. Last year the two, Kelly as understudy, toured with “I Love a Piano” in Japan. “You get paid to see the country,” Kelly said. “You get paid to see the world.” And they will get paid to open Mac-Haydn’s season with “I Love a Piano,” Karla as Sadie and Kelly codirecting with her sister, running May 29 through June 6. Berkeley plans to be in the audience one night. For tickets, call 518-392-9292. The Mac-Haydn Theatre is at 1925 New York Route 203, in Chatham.