LONG BRANCH – The New Jersey Repertory Company, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, is proud to present the world premiere musical, The Little Hours by David Bucknam, based on several short stories by Dorothy Parker.
Mrs. Parker was one of the most popular writers in America during the Roaring Twenties and was a founder of the Algonquin Round Table in New York City, a gathering of writers, critics and actors that included Robert Benchley, George S. Kaufman, Robert E. Sherwood, Alexander Woollcott, Edna Ferber, and Harpo Marx. Its loose-knit members met daily at the famed Algonquin Hotel starting in 1919.
It is only fitting that The Little Hours should open in Long Branch for Dorothy Parker was born at her family’s beach cottage in the West End section of town on August 22, 1893. The Long Branch Arts Council and the Long Branch Historical Association, in conjunction with the Dorothy Parker Society, have held an annual celebration in her honor for the past three years and a National Literary Landmark plaque marks the site of her birth (now long-gone and replaced by apartments), at 732 Ocean Avenue. The next Dorothy Parker Day festivities will be held on August 16 and the run of the play has been scheduled to coincide with these celebrations beginning on July 10 and running for six weeks through August 17.
The Little Hours is full of Parker’s trademark wit and acid observations of others and is coupled with the beautiful music and lyrics of David Bucknam. It is an insightful and moving adaptation that combines a whimsical mix of music, comedy and drama. Act I is based on four stories: A Telephone Call, The Waltz, From the Diary of a New York Lady, and The Little Hours. We eavesdrop on the lives of four women: one hiding in the shadows at a dance afraid to be trampled on by a heavy-footed admirer, another awaiting a phone call from her heart’s desire, the third, a high-society woman writing in her diary, and the fourth, an insomniac in the throes of sleeplessness.
Act II, draws upon Mrs. Parker’s well-known short-story, Such a Pretty Little Picture. We meet the Wheelock family’s hen-pecked patriarch, George, who escapes from his sterile life through his rapturous fantasies while he trims his hedges. In his mind he re-imagines his wife, daughter and his neighbor in a series of hilarious and poignant scenarios that fulfill his wildest and darkest dreams.
Recognizing the importance of this world premiere musical, the New Jersey Repertory Company has been awarded a $19,000 grant by the Edgerton Foundation through its New American Plays Award to help support the production. The Foundation seeks to support the development and production of new plays thereby enriching the repertoire for the American stage. Audiences are encouraged to come and enjoy this historic event.
Directed by Alan Souza, with musical direction by Helen Gregory, The Little Hours stars Kim Carson, Maria Couch, Brooke Davis, Ashley Puckett Gonzales, and Warren Kelley.
Specially-priced preview performances are available on Thursday and Friday, July 10 and 11 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. Opening night with reception is Saturday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. Special “Roaring 20’s Night” on Thursday, July 31 includes a party at 7:00 p.m. followed by the play.
Regular performances
Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 p.m.;
Saturdays at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.;
Sundays at 2:00 p.m. with selected Sundays at 7:00 p.m.
Tickets:
Adults $40;
Previews, $35;
Opening Night with reception, $50;
Roaring 20’s Night $50.
Discounts for seniors 65+, full-time students (18-25), and groups of 10 or more.
Reservations: Online at www.njrep.org or call 732-229-3166.
NJ Rep is handicapped accessible and offers free on-site parking and easy access from NJ Transit and Academy Bus Lines. Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are accepted.
NJ Rep receives funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts Department of State, the Baumol Family Foundation, Paul Newman, the Shubert Foundation, FirstEnergy Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and Investors Savings.
NJ Rep is a year-round, professional non-profit theater, a member of the National New Play Network, New Jersey Theater Alliance, Theater Communications Group, and the Monmouth and Long Branch Arts Councils.