02/25/2010: "The Dining Room Opens Tonight"

(L to R: Dorian Oliver, James Krall, Rosa Blair, Amanda Wyckoff, Nicholas Zervas and Marcy Hahn.)

A.R. Gurney’s The Dining Room opens THIS Thursday, February 25 at 7:30 p.m. on the Whittier stage. Both humorous and poignant at the same time, the play is set, not surprisingly, inside a dining room. Here, we meet a variety of characters played by six adult actors who change roles, personalities and ages (even becoming children).

Director Merritt Olsen says the story creates a portrait of a vanishing species: the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP).

“The play also has a thought-provoking message about the dining room and family relationships, and how they relate to modern times.”

For the actors, it has been a very creative and challenging experience as they quickly change costumes and characters. Those island talents are shown in the photo above

Tickets are available on-line at www.sjctheatre.org or at the box office (378-3210). The box office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 pm.

The Dining Room also plays THIS Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2 pm. It continues March 4-6 at 7:30 pm