MEADVILLE, Pa. – March 30, 2009 – The Allegheny College Playshop Theatre officially opens the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts in April with a production of Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman’s comedy “You Can’t Take It With You.”
The play will be performed April 2-5: at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
“This Pulitzer Prize winning play is one of the funniest pieces in the American theatrical canon, but surprisingly echoes our current economic turmoil,” said director Dan Crozier, associate professor of communication arts and theatre at Allegheny.
“You Can’t Take It With You” is set in the Sycamore family’s New York City home, a magnet for all sorts of eccentric characters, along with their strange and sometimes subversive pastimes, including snake wrangling, firework manufacturing, tax evasion, vibraphone recitals and Russian ballet. The routine is broken, however, when the Sycamores attract the attention of the U.S. government.
“I wanted something American to celebrate the opening of the Vukovich Center and the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre,” Crozier said. “As I’ve worked on the play, I’ve found deeper meanings. The playwrights and their characters have some interesting philosophies. Kaufman wrote, The way to live and be happy is just to live, and not pay attention to the world.’ This search for happiness and freedom is manifest in the characters. Like most great plays, You Can’t Take It With You’ focuses on love and family.”
The ensemble cast includes Gwyn Agnew (Pittsburgh), Samuel Moodey (Erie, Pa.), Lizzy Pecora (Mount Lebanon, Pa.), Brian Henderson (Wilmington, Del.), Phil Shafer (Meadville, Pa.), Richard Overmyer (Meadville, Pa.), Stephanie Armstrong (Guys Mills, Pa.), Dan Winston (Guys Mills, Pa.), Leonel Leon (Euless, Texas) and Anne Leonard (Gibsonia, Pa.). Professor Michael Mehler designed sets and lights for the production, and Sharon Matthews designed the costumes. Brittany Lanahan (Solon, Ohio) is the stage manager.
Tickets are $7.50 for adults; $5 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Although admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, they are asked to make reservations. For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre Box Office at (814) 332-3414.
