Who says you can’t bring Broadway to the beach? Our local Theatre of Dare joins in the revival of the classic comedy You Can’t Take It With You! The show will open Friday, January 23rd at the COA Auditorium in Manteo.
“When Theatre of Dare decided to add the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy You Can’t Take It With You to its 2014-15 lineup, no one in the organization had any idea that moguls on The Great White Way had similar plans. Or that the two productions would end up running simultaneously.
“Great minds think alike, I guess,” laughs director Gail Hutchison, whose version of the classic play takes the stage in Manteo January 23. “The play was written in 1937, but the basic theme of ‘family over fortune’ still resonates today. That’s what attracted me to this show, and what probably made it a good bet on Broadway as well.”
The play revolves around Penny Sycamore (Lisa Pfuhl) and her extended family, a firework-making, snake-loving, bad-dancing group whose youngest daughter Alice (Lauren Taylor) falls in love with Tony Kirby (Jared Eng-Hong), the son of her boss. However, when the freewheeling Sycamores meet the wealthy and uptight Kirbys (Tim Hass, Jessica Sands) for dinner, nothing goes as planned and fireworks (literally) ensue.
“It is the ultimate screwball comedy, and it’s hilarious,” says Don Bridge, who plays the Sycamore patriarch in the T.O.D. production. “But at its heart, it has a lot to say about living the life that suits you, whether it’s making a billion dollars or becoming a beach bum. Hopefully, we can make people think while they’re laughing.”
You Can’t Take It With You is appropriate for all ages and will be performed January 23, 24, 30, & 31 at 7:30 p.m. as well as January 25 and February 1 at 2 p.m. All performances will be at College of the Albemarle Auditorium in Manteo. Tickets are available online and at the door and cost $11 for adults and $6 for students.
And that’s less than one-tenth of what you’d pay for the same show in New York.”