Photo Flash: Houston's Main Street Theater Presents MY WONDERFUL DAY, Opening 5/24

When you put together a very pregnant woman, an over-the-top tv personality, his fiery wife, his mistress, his hungover best friend, and an all too wise 9 year old - well, it's going to get crazy. Alan Ayckbourn's rarely seen comedy My Wonderful Day fuses all of these characters together. With previews May 19, 20 and 23, My Wonderful Day opens May 24 and runs through June 17 at Main Street Theater. See photos from the production below!

The theater is located at Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets start at $20 (previews are $10), depending on date and section, and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at MainStreetTheater.com. Following the performance on Sunday, June 3, there will be a discussion with director Jonathan Gonzalez and the cast.

Nine year old Winnie Barnstairs observes the whirlwind at her mother's workplace - a foul-tempered, TV personality, his baby-talking mistress, his vindictive wife, and his hungover friend - and finds herself with more than enough fodder for her homework, an essay entitled "My Wonderful Day."

Ayckbourn himself directed a production of My Wonderful Day as part of the Brits Off Broadway Festival in 2009 in New York. Wrote Ben Brantley of the New York Times, "A compellingly still center lurks within the farcical storm of "My Wonderful Day," the charming, rueful new comedy written and directed by the indefatigable Alan Ayckbourn..."

Recommended for mature audiences due to profanity and adult situations.

Alan Ayckbourn is a phenomenally prolific playwright who has written and produced over 75 plays. His most popular titles include Absurd Person Singular (1975), The Norman Conquests trilogy (1973), Bedroom Farce (1975), Just Between Ourselves (1976), A Chorus of Disapproval (1984), Woman in Mind (1985), A Small Family Business (1987), Man Of The Moment (1988), House & Garden (1999) and Private Fears in Public Places (2004). His plays have won numerous awards, including seven London Evening Standard Awards. They have been translated into over 35 languages and are performed on stage and television throughout the world. Ten of his plays have been staged on Broadway, garnering two Tony nominations and one Tony award.

Jonathan Gonzalez directs My Wonderful Day. The cast includes Brittny Bush, Justin Doran (Arcadia, Driftwood), Lindsay Ehrhardt (The Coast of Utopia), Florence Garvey, Carolyn Johnson (Driftwood, Mr. Pim Passes By), Tom Prior (Cophenhagen).

The design team includes Jeffrey S. Lane (Driftwood), Daniel Polk (lighting design), Craig Seanor (sound design), Troy Scheid (costume design), and Danitra Luers (properties design). Janel J. Badrina is the production stage manager.

Since 1975, Main Street Theater has produced high quality professional theater for audiences of all ages through its MainStage productions and Main Street Youth Theater. The Main Street Theater Kids On Stage program offers performing arts classes and camps for children 5 years to 14 years of age. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market.

Main Street Theater is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 25 arts organizations that work collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater offers a lively year-round repertory of classic and contemporary plays for audiences of all ages and provides a much-needed showcase for Houston theater professionals. Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors' Equity Association and of ASSITEJ, the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Photo credit: RicOrnelProductions.com

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