Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Kitchen Theatre Company is beginning its 20th Anniversary Season on September 1st in a brand new space.  Private Lives runs from September 1st to 19th at the Kitchen Theatre’s newly renovated building at 417 W. State / W. Martin Luther King, Jr. Street.

Renovations to the new building include a bright, attractive lobby with space for art installations, comfortable new theater seating, well-appointed audience amenities, and a quieter and more efficient heating and cooling system. The audience capacity has increased from 73 seats to 99 seats. Patrons are not the only ones to benefit from the Kitchen's move.  Artists will enjoy larger dressing rooms and a green room lounge.

Private Lives by Noël Coward is a sophisticated comedy of relationships as appealing today as it was when the play opened 80 years ago.  From the delectable first moments of the play, when the audience meets the unlikely honeymooners and their former spouses, it is clear that sparks will fly.  Like a bubbling champagne, Private Lives delights in its effervescence and charms in its language.

“I can’t think of a better way to start this exciting season than with this production,” says Kitchen Theatre Artistic Director Rachel Lampert. “Private Lives is an enduring classic comedy we could never have produced at our old location. The script calls for a major scene change between the two acts, which would have required a 45-minute intermission to accomplish in the Clinton House!  And I am thrilled to have Kitchen Theatre Company veterans Margarett Perry directing, Brian Dykstra in the role of Elyot Chase, and Camilla Schade (in a cameo scene stealing role) as collaborating artists in the first production in our new space.”

Director Margarett Perry is known for many successful productions with KTC, including last season’s Chesapeake, Entertainer’s Eulogy, and HO! Other KTC credits include A Marriage Minuet, Clean Alternatives, StrangerhorsE, and The Two of You.  Kitchen Theatre newcomer NYC-based AEA actor Carol Halstead will play Amanda Prynne. Also up from NYC are Tobias Burns and Emily Renee Bennett making their Kitchen Theatre debuts as Victor and Sybil, with Camilla Schade (Old Times, Performing Therapy) as Louise, and Brian Dykstra (A Marriage Minuet, Clean Alternatives, HO!, A Play on Words, and others) as Elyot Chase. Scenic Design is by Kent Goetz, Lighting Design by E.D. Intemann, and Costume Design is by Lisa Boquist. The Sound Design is by Lesley Greene, and the Stage Manager is LaShawn Keyser.

----
v6i31