Lancaster, PA
September 19th 2018
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LANCASTER, PA- Reverie Actor’s Company is a boutique theatre company in Lancaster, PA focusing on simple storytelling for the opportunity to revisit classic works. Dan Deal and Ryan B. Gibbs co-direct its premiere production of the Kaufman and Hart comedy The Man Who Came to Dinner opening October 25 and running until November 3 at the Trust Performing Arts Center in downtown Lancaster, PA.
Deal (a Lancaster Producer/Director and Winner of TBS’s The Mansion) and Gibbs (Assistant Director for the 20th Anniversary Tour of RENT and former Artistic Director of The Allenberry Playhouse) have been friends and colleagues since 1995. They are reuniting to send Reverie Actor’s Company into its first show. Set at Christmastime 1939 in Mesalia, Ohio, this witty madcap comedy features a celebrity houseguest named Sheldon Whiteside who quickly wears out his welcome by wreaking havoc in the lives of his hosts while unknowingly changing the game for himself. Reverie is delighted to present this American classic filled with fascinating characters who pay homage to the popular culture of a bygone era with a message that still rings true today.
“We operate with full production support but with a simple style that features our company of local talent in the foreground,” says Gibbs. “We found an opportunity at the Trust to go back to basics: a floor and furniture, characters and costumes and (above all) this timeless dialogue,” he continues. While the play calls for 30 characters, the Reverie production has a simple cast of 13. Staged charmingly in the round in an intimate space of 80 seats, the action will happen right up to the toes of the audience.
“We are grateful that the Trust Performing Arts Center is graciously presenting the show as part of their 2018-2019 season,” says Deal who is also directing the Trust’s upcoming production of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
The cast includes a packed barrel of local talent, who have all worked together before on various projects in Lancaster. “That’s what so fun about this!” says Deal, adding, “What makes something like this a success are the people involved. It’s a lot of worlds coming together for a great time!”
Brian McCreary leads the company as the bombastic Sheldon Whiteside. The remaining players, comprised of some of Lancaster’s best actors, are Derek Bigley, Kristen Brewer, Jesse Brooks, Dan Deal, Kristen Hertzog, Dan Lehning, Katherine Rundall, Melissa Ticen, Andrew Zahn and Sarah Zahn. In complement to the partnership between the Trust and Lancaster Bible College, Johnny Russell (an instructor at LBC) and Sam Ingram (a student at LBC) are also part of the cast. Members of the Production Team include Seth Barstow, Robert Bigley, Bonnie Bosso, Melissa Edwards and Priscilla Kaufhold.
The Man Who Came to Dinner is a comedy in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939 at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941. A film was made by the same name in 1942 starring Bette Davis. It was revived on Broadway in 1980 and again in 2000 (starring Nathan Lane as Whiteside.) While Kaufman and Hart have many famous collaborations, they are best known for their American perennial favorite You Can’t Take It with You.
The Man Who Came to Dinner plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm, with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets are $18, with special prices for students, veterans and seniors. Group rates are also available. For ticketing information please visit www.reverieactorscompany.com.
More information at www.reverieactorscompany.com |@reverieactorscompany | @ reverie_actors_co
The Trust Performing Arts Center is located at 37 N. Market St., Lancaster, PA 17603
PLEASE CONSIDER ADDING US TO YOUR CALENDAR OF EVENTS
*******
PRESS INQUIRES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO: GENERAL INQUIRES SHOULD BE DIRECTED TO:
Dan Deal info.revactco@gmail.com
Director
(717) 203-7069 | deal.revactco@gmail.com www.reverieactorscompany.com