SETTING The action takes place in a suite of an upscale Palm Beach hotel between the early morning and late evening of a Saturday in early Spring, 1934.
SYNOPSIS Longtime playwriting collaborators arrive at a luxurious Palm Beach hotel one lovely spring evening in 1934 with their young composer in tow. The three are ready to surprise their leading lady – who is engaged to the composer – with the latest version of their new musical. But they’re the ones in for the surprise when the leading lady’s old flame turns up at the hotel as well, and he’s not ready to let her go. Delightful mischief follows as one of the playwrights plots a clever scheme (involving a play-within-a-play) to set everything right. As art imitates life time and again in this clever comedy, what is clearest of all is the power of theatre to reveal truth even as it conceals it.The Play’s the Thing will be performed with two intermissions.
OPENING NIGHT Friday, December 21, 2007 at 8 PM.
The opening night show is followed by Asolo Rep’s big champagne reception, and “mingle with the stars” celebration. Members of the media are invited to photograph and interview the cast and creative team at the party.
PREVIEWS Wednesday, December 19 at 8 PM / Thursday, December 20 at 8 PM
SHOW TIMES
12/21 8:00 PM ON 01/12 8:00 PM 02/07 2:00 PM
12/23 2:00 PM AD 01/16 8:00 PM 02/08 8:00 PM
12/27 2:00 PM 01/18 8:00 PM 02/16 8:00 PM
12/29 8:00 PM 01/19 2:00 PM 02/19 8:00 PM
01/01 8:00 PM 01/20 2:00 PM PT/OC 02/28 8:00 PM PT
01/02 8:00 PM 01/23 2:00 PM 03/01 2:00 PM IN
01/03 8:00 PM 01/29 8:00 PM 03/05 8:00 PM AD
01/05 2:00 PM 01/30 8:00 PM 03/06 2:00 PM
01/09 2:00 PM 02/02 8:00 PM 03/09 2:00 PM
01/10 2:00 PM 02/06 2:00 PM 03/13 8:00 PM CL
PLAYTALKS This is a free opportunity for the community to meet the actors of each play and participate in an animated and honest discussion about the production process. Tickets to the show prior to the discussion are $19-$56. In the Mertz Theatre: Sunday, January 20 after the 2 PM matinee performance and Thursday, February 28 after the 8 PM evening performance.
INSIGHTS Asolo Rep Insights series provides a peek at the intriguing and often humorous inside stories behind the selection, development and staging of each production. Moderated by the Asolo Rep education staff, the one-hour Saturday morning talks include discussions with the cast, directors, and technical artists who create the work you see on stage. The discussion is FREE; you may purchase tickets to the 2 PM performance following the discussion for $19-$52; however, attendance at the show is not required.
Saturday, March 1 at 11 AM in the Mertz Theatre
AUDIO DESCRIBED A service provided by Asolo Rep where specially trained audio describers provide elaborate audio imagery of the play action and setting to visually impaired audience members through a headset system. Sponsored by the Center for Sight.
Sunday, December 23, 2 PM
Wednesday, March 5, 8 PM
CLOSING NIGHT CELEBRATION on March 13, 2008
Ticketholders to the last evening performance are invited to join Asolo Rep and Prudential Palms Realty for a fun-filled, blow-out cast party! Purchase a ticket to the closing night performance (March 13) and mingle with the cast after the show. Enjoy free wine, late night snack food, D.J. music, beer tasting compliments of Gold Coast Eagle Distributing and a cash bar.
CORPORATE MEDIA SEASON PRESENTER: Comcast
MAJOR SEASON PRESENTERS Florida State University, Joan Mendell, and Virginia Toulmin
SEASON PRESENTERS Designing Women Boutique, Janet & Stanley Kane, and Elaine Keating
CRYSTAL SOCIETY Esther M. Mertz, Lee Peterson, and Ulla R. Searing
CO-PRESENTERS U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management and Chateau L’Hesperit Wine
CO-PRODUCERS Ed Kalin, in memory of Alyce Kalin, Diana Lager, Wanda Rayle-Libby and Harold Libby, Betsy and Tom Marshall, and Sheila and Jules Rose
Note: The Play’s the Thing is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE By Greg Learning
Has there ever been a more fascinating and diverse group of artists to rally around the work of a playwright than those who latched onto the work of Ferenc Molnar? Rodgers and Hammerstein adapted his play Lilliom into Carousel, which became one of the highlights of the American musical stage. Preston Sturges wrote the screenplay for a 1935 film adaptation of Molnar’s play The Good Fairy, which starred Margaret Sullivan; the film was an enormous success. Grace Kelly made her last film appearance in the 1956 screen adaptation of his play The Swan. P.G. Wodehouse and Tom Stoppard both adapted Molnar’s The Play in the Castle; in Stoppard’s hands it became Rough Crossing. Wodehouse’s work resulted in The Play’s the Thing. Artists, audiences, and critics all reveled in Molnar’s influence on the entertainment industry. In the 1940s, New York Times critic Mordaunt Hall bemoaned the state of American cinema by saying: “It is a pity that there are not more Fontannes, Lunts and Molnars to help out the screen, for then this medium of entertainment would be in a far higher plane.”
###
Asolo Repertory Theatre is funded in part by the Division of Cultural Affairs, Florida Department of State, the Florida Arts Council, the City and County of Sarasota and the Sarasota County Tourist Development Tax through the Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and the Sarasota County Arts Council. Funding is also received through efforts of support groups including the Asolo Angel Association, the Asolo Repertory Theatre Guild, the Directors Emeritus and the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations.