DINNER FOR ONE Set for Greater Boston Stage Company Next Month

Greater Boston Stage Company will opens its 25th anniversary season with the New England premiere of Dinner for One, running from November 1 to November 17, 2024. The production, directed by Producing Artistic Director Weylin Symes, stars renowned Boston-based actors Paul Melendy and Debra Wise. This special production also marks the debut of the company's newly renovated theatre, a space designed to enhance both audience and artist experiences.

Dinner for One, written by Christina Baldwin, Sun Mee Chomet, and Jim Lichtscheidl, brings laughter and nostalgia to the stage in this delightful, uproarious feast of physical comedy. Inspired by the iconic European comedy sketch that has been a New Year's Eve staple for over six decades, the play centers on Miss Sophie (Debra Wise) and her loyal butler James (Paul Melendy). As James impersonates Miss Sophie's long-lost lovers at a fantastical dinner party, unexpected mishaps and increasingly comical situations arise as the night and wine flow freely. With heartwarming charm and high-energy slapstick, Dinner for One promises an unforgettable theatre experience for all ages.

“We couldn't think of a better production to kick off our milestone 25th season,” said Symes. “Dinner for One is the perfect blend of comedy, nostalgia, and joy—a reflection of everything we love about live theatre. Plus, it's a great way to showcase our newly renovated space and celebrate the future of our company.”

The recent renovation of Greater Boston Stage Company includes major upgrades to seating, lighting, and accessibility, creating a more intimate and immersive environment for both performers and audiences. The modernized design, which maintains the historic charm of the building, features brand new seats available for dedication through the Buy A Seat campaign, part of the theatre's ongoing commitment to engaging and connecting with the community.

Performances of Dinner for One will be held at Greater Boston Stage Company in Stoneham, MA, from November 1 through November 17, 2024. Tickets are available now at greaterbostonstage.org or by calling the Box Office at (781) 279-2200. The cast includes Paul Melendy* and Debra Wise*.

The Production Team includes Weylin Symes (Director), Katy Monthei (Scenic Designer), Jeff Adelberg^ (Lighting Designer), Deirdre Gerrard (Costume Designer), David Remedios (Sound Designer), Hazel Peters (Properties Designer), Tim Goss (Music Director), Tommaso Lorenzon (Musician/Violin), Casey Blackbird (Production Manager), E.D. Fitzgerald* (Production Stage Manager), Mariah Ruben (Assistant Stage Manager), and Kira Troilo (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Consultant).

*Member of Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States.
^Member of IATSE/USA

Single Tickets: $64-69 Adults; $59-69 Seniors; $25 Students (with valid ID). For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at Greater Boston Stage Company at (781) 279-2200, or visit https://www.greaterbostonstage.org/shows-tickets/mainstage/dinner-for-one/.

DIRECTOR BIO

Weylin Symes (he/him) is Greater Boston Stage Company's Producing Artistic Director. Weylin Symes has been extensively involved in the renovation of Greater Boston Stage's building since 1999. Over the past 25 years, he has overseen the growth of the theatre into one of Boston's five largest performing arts organizations, as recognized by the Boston Business Journal. After serving as the theatre's first Artistic Associate, Weylin assumed the role of Artistic Director in 2003 and was named as Producing Artistic Director in 2007. In his time at GBSC, Weylin has directed over 30 productions for the Mainstage and The Young Company and adapted several pieces for performance on GBSC's stage, including The Old Man and the Sea, Dracula, and It's a Wonderful Life. He also wrote Last Night at Bowl-Mor Lanes and the story and book for the original musical Lobster Girl, both of which premiered on GBSC's stage. In 2013, he completed an adaptation of the Grimm Fairy Tale The Handless Maiden for performance by The Young Company at GBSC.

CAST BIOS

Paul Melendy* he/him (James) Paul is completely chuffed to be opening Greater Boston Stage Company's 25th season. Recent GBSC productions include “Titanish”, “Clue”, “Miss Holmes Returns”, “The 39 Steps”, and his one-man showing of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, which earned him the Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. Recent area collaborations include “The Drowsy Chaperone” (Lyric Stage Company), “Tall Tales of Blackburn Tavern” (Gloucester Stage Company), “Vanity Fair” (Central Square Theater), “A Christmas Carol” and “The Wickhams: Christmas at Pemberley” (Merrimack Repertory Theater), and “A Confederacy of Dunces” (w/Nick Offerman, Huntington Theater Company). You may catch Paul on your local TV screens in commercials for VistaPrint or Plymouth Rock Insurance or streaming on Max in the first season of “Julia”. Film credits include “Love, Weddings, & Other Disasters”, “Father of the Year”, “Unfinished Business”, “The Makeover”, “The Pink Panther Deux”, and the upcoming Amy Adams film “At the Sea”. To contact Paul or to take a peek at his website, please check out www.paulmelendy.com. Thank you for your gracious attendance!

Debra Wise* she/her (Miss Sophie) is delighted to be making her GBSC debut with Dinner for One. She is currently Interim Artistic Director of The Revels (revels.org), and is directing this December's Midwinter Revels - The Selkie Girl and the Seal Woman: A Celtic and Cabo Verdean Celebration of the Solstice. 45 years ago, she co-founded Underground Railway Theater. From 1978-2008, URT toured original works nationally and abroad, with titles including Sanctuary – The Spirit of Harriet Tubman, Home is Where, InTOXICating and The Christopher Columbus Follies; they were also commissioned by Boston Symphony and other orchestras (Firebird, Creation of the World, Tempest); a digital book documents the first 25 years of URT's history: URTheaterEbook.com. After opening Central Square Theater with The Nora Theatre Company in 2008, Wise co-founded Catalyst Collaborative@MIT, CST's science theater partnership. Other partnerships she led included Roots of Liberty – The Haitian Revolution and the American Civil War with the National Parks Service, featuring actors, dancers, musicians, and guests Danny Glover, Henry Louis Gates and Edwidge Danticat. URT@CST won Elliot Norton awards under Wise's leadership: Vanity Fair, black odyssey boston (a co-production with Front Porch), The Convert and Constellations; she also first brought NYC's Bedlam to Boston with St. Joan. Acting appearances at CST included Angels in America, The Half-Life of Marie Curie, Vanity Fair, Homebody, Copenhagen, Brundibar & But the Giraffe!, The Other Place, Distracted, The How and the Why, Einstein's Dreams, From Orchids to Octopi: An Evolutionary Love Story, Yesterday Happened: Remembering H.M., Breaking the Code, Arabian Nights and A Christmas Memory. Appearances on other Boston stages: Much Ado About Nothing (Commonwealth Shakespeare); Doll's House 2 and Escaped Alone (The Gamm); Mistero Buffo (Poets' Theatre); A Boston Marriage and Orson's Shadow (New Rep); People, Places & Things (Speakeasy); and Chosen Child (Boston Playwrights'); in NYC, The Haggadah (The Public, with Julie Taymor). Work as a playwright includes her adaptation of A Christmas Carol; States of Grace (inspired by Grace Paley); Alice's Adventures Underground (adapted from Lewis Carroll); and Matchless (from Gregory Maguire's novella). Wise left her CST Artistic Director position in 2022, to invite increasingly diverse leadership; she continues as an advisor of Catalyst Collaborative@MIT. She is the audiobook narrator for Gregory Maguire's return to his Wicked franchise, the Another Day series.

ABOUT GREATER BOSTON STAGE COMPANY

We bring vibrant professional theatre and dramatic education beyond the boundaries of Boston, featuring world and regional premieres alongside fresh interpretations of familiar work. Within this setting, we uniquely foster the artists of tomorrow by providing ongoing performance and employment opportunities to our company of current and former students. Now in its 25th Season of live theatre in Stoneham, MA, Greater Boston Stage Company produces six Mainstage shows, presents a series of Special Events, and runs year-round classes, lessons, and fully staged productions through The Young Company for students in grades 1–12.

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