Donald Margulies’s 2000 play captures the essence of modern adult
friendship, from the trials of marriage to the advance of middle age. Two couples, longtime friends, assemble for a
dinner where tensions break and secrets are spilled. Divorce is imminent for one pair, with
reflection and reassessment for the other.
Having once expected “to grow old and fat together,” the couples must
now figure out who they are without the stability of others to define
them. This comic drama won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
and was made into an acclaimed television film in 2001.
Dinner With Friends is directed by RVR Producing Director Matt Andrews, with
a cast that includes Yvonne Perry * (Karen), Eric Rolland (Gabe), Brenny
Rabine * (Beth) and John Summerford * (Tom).
Designs by Jim Steinmeyer, Marybeth Boylan and Jimmy Lawlor. Running August 5-14.
THE 39 STEPS JULY 8-17
River Valley
Rep was thrilled to offer Hudson Valley audiences the regional premiere
of
Patrick Barlow’s suspenseful spoof The 39 Steps – lovingly
adapted from
the classic Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name. Equal parts
thrills, chills and spills, Patrick Barlow’s spine-tingling and
knee-slapping The
39 Steps follows mild mannered British everyman Richard Hannay as he
falls
into a plot of mistaken identity, murder and a hair-raising manhunt at
the
hands of mysterious spies – and a host of 150 zany characters (played by
only
three actors!) along the way. The 1935 film is a classic of style and
suspense, and this loving tweak runs at a fevered pace that is as fierce
as it
is farce.
The 39 Steps was
directed by
RVR Artistic Director Jim Steinmeyer, with a cast that includes Jonathan
Horvath * (Hannay), Chris Weikel * (Clown 1), Wayne Pyle * (Clown 2) and
Sarah
Kauffman (Femmes Fatale). Designs by Steinmeyer, Marie Hasen and Jimmy
Lawlor. River Valley Rep, a professional non-profit theatre in its
second
full season, works in residence at Marist College. Ran July 8-17.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER JULY 22-31 
With a recent Tony-winning smash revival of
his classic musical A
Little Night Music, a concert performance of his groundbreaking Company
and
2010’s star-studded, year-long 80th birthday celebration,
interest
in the music and legacy of Stephen Sondheim has never been higher. Putting
It Together is the 1993
celebration of all things Sondheim: some of his most beloved songs
(“Merrily We
Roll Along,” “Pretty Women,” “Marry Me A Little,” “Being Alive”) from
some of
his most beloved shows – Sunday in the Park With George, Sweeney
Todd, Into
the Woods, Assassins, and the film Dick Tracy. Funny,
challenging, touching and
affirming, this special review combines great heart with some of the
greatest
music ever written for the stage.
Putting It Together was directed by B.
Peter Westerhoff,
with musical direction by Sarah Brett England.
The cast included RVR Co-Artistic Director Nancy Auffarth*, Richard Rice
Alan *, Tiffan Borelli *, Robert Wilde * and Jeff Horst. Designs by
Linda Esperance, Marybeth
Boylan and Jimmy Lawlor. Ran July 22-31.
* = Member of Actors Equity Association, the labor union
representing American actors and stage managers in the theatre.
