The Gamm to Stage Tom Stoppard's THE REAL THING, 3/14-4/14

The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) will stage The Real Thing, British playwright Tom Stoppard's Tony-award-winning "best play" about the nature and mystery of love. Featuring a play within a play with constantly reconfiguring relationships, The Real Thing toys with the audience's sense of reality to create "...not only Mr. Stoppard's most moving play, but also the most bracing play that anyone has written about love and marriage in years," says The New York Times.

Gamm Resident Director FrEd Sullivan, Jr. (Boom, Hamlet, A Doll's House) brings to life the loves and lost loves of playwright Henry (Tony Estrella); his wife, Charlotte (Marianna Bassham); an actor named Max (Tom Gleadow); and his activist wife, Annie (Jeanine Kane).

Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella says, "Tom Stoppard is one of the two or three greatest living playwrights. His Rock 'n' Roll (Gamm Season 25) remains one of the most challenging and powerful artistic experiences I've had in my tenure at The Gamm. No writer today can match his wit, erudition and mastery of theatrical stage craft. The Real Thing is a play we've been looking forward to producing for many seasons. I can't wait to begin rehearsals with Fred and our amazing cast."

The Real Thing runs from March 14 through April 14 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI. Tickets: $36 and $45 (depending on day/time); preview and press performances (March 14-18) just $26. Discounts for subscribers, groups of 10 or more, seniors and students. Tickets at 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org.

Charlotte, an actress, is appearing in a play about marriage written by her cerebral playwright husband, Henry. Max, her leading man, is also married to an actress, Annie. Both marriages are on the verge of a breakdown because Henry and Annie have fallen in love. But there's a question not even Henry can answer: Is it the real thing? This multi-award winning play (Evening Standard, New York Drama Critics' and Tony awards) by the author of such masterworks as Rock 'n' Roll, Arcadia, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead combines the playwright's brilliant wordplay and wit with poignant insights about the nature--and mystery--of love, commitment and authenticity.

The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard is directed by FrEd Sullivan, Jr., with set design by Patrick Lynch, costume design by Amanda Downing Carney, lighting design by David Roy and stage management by Jessica Hill*, with assistant stage manager Kira Hawkridge and dialect coach Wendy Overly.

CAST
Henry..........Tony Estrella*
Charlotte.....Marianna Bassham*
Max............Tom Gleadow*
Annie..........Jeanine Kane*
Billie............Marc Dante Mancini
Debbie.........Betsy Rinaldi
Brodie..........Steve Kidd*

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.

The Sunday, March 24 performance at 2 p.m. will be followed by humanities discussion, open to the public at no charge.

Founded in 1984 as Alias Stage, the non-profit Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre creates the finest of live theater, engaging the audience intensely in current and recurrent issues of consequence. The Gamm further serves the public with educational outreach programming designed to support the theatrical experience, and help sustain and enhance the intellectual and cultural life of its community. The Gamm is a member of New England Area Theatre (NEAT), a bargaining unit of the Actors Equity Association.

More Articles by This Author...