Great Barrington Public Theater Opens Brenda Withers' OFF PEAK July 6

Off Peak playing July 6-23rd, in the McConnell Theater, Bard College at Simon's Rock, is a tried-and-true comedy reminiscent of Noel Coward or Nora Ephron, with the spark of Dorothy Parker, by award-winning playwright Brenda Withers.

It premiered in 2022 at the venerable Hudson Stage Company, Armonk NY to audiences' unanimous delight before moving on to a short run at 59E59 St. Theaters, NYC where it gained further positive notice.  conductor to come in at any second.”

GB Public gives audiences another chance to take in this charming, disarming new comedy that plays especially funny and close to home for anyone who travels on Hudson Valley trains. Sarita and Martin split seventeen years ago. Everything has changed, except their undeniable, irresistible love for each other, and the big question, 'what if?'.

When they find themselves caught together out-of-the-blue on the same train just as it grinds to a dreaded, stuck-on-the-tracks delay, so begins a serendipitous reconnection and reconciliation of a lifetime, the one so many former lovers wish for, so they could end it right this time, once and for all, without falling for the other's tricks, tics, traits and unforgettable intimacy again. Their entrapment on the rails becomes a poignant, wise and always rich comedy that only wants for love's resolution before the train rolls on again.

Brenda Withers is a brisk, gifted writer for screen and stage, and co-founder of Harbor Stage Co., Wellfleet, MA. The GB Public's production of Off Peak pairs Peggy Pharr Wilson and Kevin O'Rourke, two of the Berkshires' finest ensemble comic actors with well-known stage and screen actor James Warwick directing, who says, “Their lives have altered course, as has their relationship. They find themselves revealing their conflicted feelings about their past, about their present and with great humor and compassion, discover reconciliation and forgiveness. It's a heartwarming story told with personal insight about two richly created, recognizable people.”

Off Peak runs July 6-July 23, Thurs.- Sat., 7:30pm, Sat. and Sun., 3pm, in the McConnell Mainstage Theater, Daniel Arts Center, Bard College at Simon's Rock, 84 Alford Road, Great Barrington, MA 01230. More information can be found on the GBPT website and on Facebook. Tickets to performances are affordable to all, between $25 and $50, and are available on the website and by phone 413-372-1980, or GBPTboxoffice@gmail.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.