Flat Rock Playhouse Presents Neil Simon's PROPOSALS

If Flat Rock Playhouse's 2019 Homecoming Season celebrates family, love, and adventure, then Neil Simon's Proposals, checks all three boxes. Simon is known for hits such as The Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, and Lost in Yonkers, and much like his other comedies, Proposals recounts the highs and lows of family life with laughter, punctuated by moments of connection and discovery. Audiences can expect another top-notch comedy from the late playwright, as a family reunion unfolds with relatable hilarity and heartwarming discoveries. Running May 17th - June 1st, Proposals combines everything that is loved about the classic American family sitcom with all the generosity and impact of a live performance.

Whether audiences recognize his name or not, Neil Simon's work speaks for itself. Throughout his career, he wrote more than 30 plays as well as screenplays and books. He received more Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer. Awards include an Emmy, Golden Globe, Pulitzer Prize, Tonys (3), Writers Guild of America Awards (6), as well as a host of additional accolades including induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Producing Artistic Director, Lisa K. Bryant says, Neil Simon resonates with audiences because his works celebrate everyday life and people. Using rapid-fire jokes and simple, yet commonplace conflicts, Simon magnifies the heart and hilarity of real life so the troubles of the characters become hysterically relatable. Proposals does just this through the events of an unexpected family reunion, and we get to enjoy the ensuing comedy and meaningful discoveries."

Unlike, Simon's other plays, Proposals take place outside. The characters gather around a lake house in the Poconos with an unseen lake in the distance. This environment presents the Flat Rock Playhouse artistic team with the opportunity to create a nuanced forest onstage. Audiences can expect real trees and woodland features, hand selected by the design team, that will immediately transport actors and patrons alike deeper into this memory play.

The play itself opens and closes with the family's housekeeper, Clemma, who recounts the last time the Hines family gathered at a retreat in the Poconos. Love runs amok as Mr. Hines, a recovering workaholic, anticipates the return of his ex-wife, whom he still loves. Mr. Hines' daughter, Josie, recently broke off her engagement and yearns for her ex-fiance's best friend, Ray. Meanwhile, Clemma dreads seeing her own husband who deserted her years ago. Amidst the drama enters Ray's friend, a young Miami gangster with a bad case of malapropisms. Audiences can expect to laugh and cry as these dynamic and delightful characters rediscover the love that brings them all together.

Proposals features a cast of new and familiar faces. Katie Barton, Grayson Powell, Paige Posey, Stewart Gregory, and Maddie Franke will return to the Leiman Mainstage after appearing most recently in Pickin' and A Grinnin', Affections of May, The Glass Menagerie, Gypsy, and A Flat Rock Playhouse Christmas respectively. Thursday Farrar, Allen Law, Brendan Malafronte, and Dathan Williams will make their Flat Rock Playhouse debuts.

Bill Mu oz will serve as Stage Manager along with Elly Leidner as Assistant Stage Manager. Adam Goodrum will serve as Production Manager. Sandra Lopez, CJ Barnwell, Ashli Arnold Crump, and David Gerena will serve as Scenic Lighting, Costume, and Sound Design respectively. Cassidy Bowles will design the properties.

Proposals is brought to you in part by Mainstage Series Sponsor Henderson County Tourism Development Authority, Opening Night Sponsor Rug and Home, Transportation Sponsor Hunter Subaru, Hearing Loop Sponsor Asheville Head, Neck, and Ear Surgeons, and Executive Producer DHG.

Proposals runs May 17th - June 1st at Flat Rock Playhouse Leiman Mainstage. Performances Wednesday and Thursday at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, Friday at 8:00 PM, Saturday at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM, and Sunday at 2:00 PM. Tickets for adults or children can be purchased by calling the Playhouse box office at 828-693-0731, toll-free at 866-737-8008 or online at www.flatrockplayhouse.org.

Flat Rock Playhouse Leiman Mainstage is located at 2661 Greenville Highway, Flat Rock, NC 28731.

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