June 27, 2006 -- Heritage Repertory Theatre continues its 31st season with a production of Matthew Barber's Tony Award-nominated adaptation of the famed novel Enchanted April. The production opens on July 7 at the Culbreth Theatre, and will be directed by Douglas Sprigg.
The play tells the story of four wildly-mismatched British women who head to an idyllic Northern Italian villa in an attempt to escape their dreary lives. During the course of their trip, those lives are changed forever when setting and circumstances come together to provide them with answers they didn’t even know they were seeking and illuminating glimpses of their true selves.
Enchanted April was adapted from the 1921 novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim and is known to many from its acclaimed 1992 film adaptation, which starred Dame Joan Plowright and Miranda Richarson.
“This is a delightful night at the theatre, ” said Robert Chapel, Producing Artistic Director at Heritage Rep. “Audiences will find that the show offers a little bit of everything, from great comedy to wonderful characters and a timeless message about the value of stepping outside of our lives to discover the people we truly are.”
Enchanted April Director Douglas Sprigg is well known to local audiences thanks to a long list of recent HRT credits. He directed a pair of popular productions last season, including Arthur Miller’s “The Price and Richard Dresser ’s Rounding Third. Other HRT productions he has directed include The Syringa Tree, Proof, Art, Same Time, Next Year, Picnic, Harvey, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Miracle Worker. He directed Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya for the U.Va.
Department of Drama in 2000. Sprigg has directed more than 80 productions over the course of his career, including shows in Los Angeles, New York and the Potomac Theatre Project in Washington, D.C. He is also a highly respected educator, serving for twenty of his thirty years at Vermont ’s Middlebury College as the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance; earlier this year, Sprigg was named Mettler Professor of Theatre. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Michigan.
Enchanted April also features actress Ann Talman, a Charlottesville native who has compiled an impressive array of high-profile credits during the course of a career that has seen her go from Charlottestville to Broadway and back home again. Most recently, Talman appeared in Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros’ The Airport Play as part of the Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon in New York. Her Broadway credits include The Women (Roundabout Theatre); Some Americans Abroad and House of Blue Leaves (Lincoln Center); and The Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor. Off-Broadway, Talman has appeared at Soho Rep, The New Group, Second Stage, Primary Stages and Vineyard Theatre. She has also compiled a long list of regional theatre credits, including the Huntington Theatre Company, Center Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Williamstown Theatre Festival and others. Film and television audiences know her from appearances in Serendipity, Wall Street, Bob Roberts, Law & Order, SVU, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Ellen, Kate & Allie, The Street and more.
Enchanted April will run July 7 and 8 and 11-15.
To order tickets, visit the box office at Culbreth Theatre or call 434-924-3376.
For more information on HRT and its 31st season, visit www.uvahrt.org
The play tells the story of four wildly-mismatched British women who head to an idyllic Northern Italian villa in an attempt to escape their dreary lives. During the course of their trip, those lives are changed forever when setting and circumstances come together to provide them with answers they didn’t even know they were seeking and illuminating glimpses of their true selves.
Enchanted April was adapted from the 1921 novel by Elizabeth Von Arnim and is known to many from its acclaimed 1992 film adaptation, which starred Dame Joan Plowright and Miranda Richarson.
“This is a delightful night at the theatre, ” said Robert Chapel, Producing Artistic Director at Heritage Rep. “Audiences will find that the show offers a little bit of everything, from great comedy to wonderful characters and a timeless message about the value of stepping outside of our lives to discover the people we truly are.”
Enchanted April Director Douglas Sprigg is well known to local audiences thanks to a long list of recent HRT credits. He directed a pair of popular productions last season, including Arthur Miller’s “The Price and Richard Dresser ’s Rounding Third. Other HRT productions he has directed include The Syringa Tree, Proof, Art, Same Time, Next Year, Picnic, Harvey, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Miracle Worker. He directed Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya for the U.Va.
Department of Drama in 2000. Sprigg has directed more than 80 productions over the course of his career, including shows in Los Angeles, New York and the Potomac Theatre Project in Washington, D.C. He is also a highly respected educator, serving for twenty of his thirty years at Vermont ’s Middlebury College as the Chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance; earlier this year, Sprigg was named Mettler Professor of Theatre. He holds a Ph.D from the University of Michigan.
Enchanted April also features actress Ann Talman, a Charlottesville native who has compiled an impressive array of high-profile credits during the course of a career that has seen her go from Charlottestville to Broadway and back home again. Most recently, Talman appeared in Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros’ The Airport Play as part of the Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon in New York. Her Broadway credits include The Women (Roundabout Theatre); Some Americans Abroad and House of Blue Leaves (Lincoln Center); and The Little Foxes with Elizabeth Taylor. Off-Broadway, Talman has appeared at Soho Rep, The New Group, Second Stage, Primary Stages and Vineyard Theatre. She has also compiled a long list of regional theatre credits, including the Huntington Theatre Company, Center Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Williamstown Theatre Festival and others. Film and television audiences know her from appearances in Serendipity, Wall Street, Bob Roberts, Law & Order, SVU, Seinfeld, Murphy Brown, Ellen, Kate & Allie, The Street and more.
Enchanted April will run July 7 and 8 and 11-15.
To order tickets, visit the box office at Culbreth Theatre or call 434-924-3376.
For more information on HRT and its 31st season, visit www.uvahrt.org
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June 25, 2006
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