This weekend is Labor Day, official start to the fall season. The kids are back in school. The days are getting shorter. Mums are available everywhere. And theater is back for the regular season!
It seems like just yesterday MCT was out and about with its Summer Pop-up Season; Cochranton, Goodell Gardens, and who could forget the Crawford County Courthouse! As exciting as it was, it’s nice to be back in our home theater in the Odd Fellow’s Building.
2022-2023 Season Opener
We open our “Friend or Foe” season with Neil Simon’s The Dinner Party. One by one, six guests arrive to a party in a lovely, old Paris restaurant. At first they think they are going to be six strangers and wonder why they have been invited. Slowly they realize, this is a party for divorced couples. Who would do such a thing, and for what purpose?
The cast of this stunningly realistic comedy is so talented, it is amazing to see them come together on one stage; Guy McUmber, Traci Andrews, Dave Neal, Bridget Pendolino, Joe Galbo and Joanne Helides. They are all excited to share their characters with you and hope you “laugh through your tears” as these couples navigate this impossible situation.
The Dinner Party was Simon’s second to last play and first opened in December of 1999. It combines the traditional Simon comedy we are used to, glib one-liners and impeccable timing, with the pathos that comes with a subject such as love and divorce. It is not an uncommon line for Simon to walk. His work explores domestic issues of middle-class people, and The Dinner Party is no different.
As our dinner party guests decided, this is one invitation you are not going to want to pass up. We love starting the season with a comedy, and this is one with some heart.
See The Dinner Party September 16-25, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2:00pm. Performances take place at MCT, 400 North Main street in Meadville. Tickets are $11.00-$13.00 and can be purchased here or reserved by calling 814-333-1773.