(Red Bank, NJ) Two River Theater Company’s grand opening production, You Can’t Take It With You, the classic, all-American Pulitzer-Prize-winning comedy by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, will be presented May 5 – 22, 2005 at the company’s new Red Bank performance venue. This comic masterpiece, by the authors of Once in a Lifetime and The Man Who Came to Dinner, is an inspired and giddy confection of romance and lunacy. The play will be directed by TRTC’s founder and executive producer, Robert Rechnitz.
You Can’t Take It With You opened on Broadway in 1936 and proved to be a tonic for a country reeling from the Great Depression. The play became an instant hit and sparked an American manifesto of sorts: Screwballs of the world unite – You have nothing to lose but your Depression. The Sycamore home is a place filled with mayhem and oddball characters, a place where anything can happen. At the head of the family is Grandpa, a businessman who one day dropped out of the rat race, realizing that life was too precious to be spent in an office. When his granddaughter, Alice, becomes engaged to the attractive, young, and wealthy Tony Kirby, the meeting between the two families erupts in fireworks (literally) and laughter.
The play, which is a perennial favorite, was chosen by Mr. Rechnitz to inaugurate TRTC’s new venue. “I thought it would be a good thing to turn the pages of this old album in this brand new theater,” explained Mr. Rechnitz. “I thought we ought to remember the secure past as we go careening into the adventure of the new.”
The cast of 19 includes veterans of Broadway, off-Broadway, and film. The role of Grandpa will be played by J.R. Horne, whose most recent Broadway appearance was in The Crucible, and who appeared in the film, O Brother Where Art Thou. Peggy Cosgrave plays the ditsy Penelope Sycamore, after appearing on Broadway in The Nerd, Born Yesterday, The Shadow Box and Suddenly Last Summer. Other cast members include Jenn Miller Cribbs and Nathan Blew as the young lovers, Brandi Wooten as an inept but determined ballet student, and William Bogert as the uptight Mr. Kirby. Also in the cast are Kathleen Doyle, Kaci M. Fannin, Kevin W. Hauver, George C. Hosmer, Christian Kauffmann, Jody Madaras, Robert Ousley, and Lorenzo Scott. Rounding out the cast are two returning actors, Darrie Lawrence and Lisa McMillan, as well as local actors Dan Johnson, Jim Jennings, and Rob McBurnie.
Also returning to TRTC are three members of the production team: scenic designer Neil Prince (making this his 16th TRTC production), lighting designer Christopher Gorzelnik, and costume designer Moira Shaugnessy.
You Can’t Take It With You will inaugurate TRTC’s new state-of-the-art, 349-seat theater at 21 Bridge Avenue in Red Bank. The main stage at TRTC is designed to bring the audience closer to the actors, with no seat further than 36-feet from the stage. Free and ample parking is available behind the theater.
Tickets are on sale now and range from $29 to $40, based upon the day of the week of the performance. Several performances are sold out. Student tickets are available for $12. Discounts are available for seniors and for those under age 26. For tickets, call 732-345-1400. For information about You Can’t Take it With You, or TRTC’s 2005/2006 Season, call the box office or visit online at www.trtc.org.
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