YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU Opens Next Week In Nevada City

Sierra Stages completes its 10th Anniversary Season with the classic American comedy "You Can't Take It With You" by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, playing for three weekends only from September 20 through October 6 at the historic Nevada Theatre in Nevada City.

Since its Broadway debut in 1936, Kaufman & Hart's Pulitzer Prize-winning "You Can't Take It with You" has become one of the most popular plays in American history. A true classic, this hilarious screwball comedy unfurls under the bohemian roof of Grandpa Vanderhof's creatively eccentric family - hopping with writers, painters, ballet dancers, xylophone players, caged snakes, a Russian duchess who lives to bake blintzes, and a basement full of firecrackers. When love blooms between Grandpa Vanderhof's granddaughter and the son of an uptight, conservative Wall Street banker, the collision of their two worlds explodes into laughter!

"You Can't Take It With You" is directed by Scott Gilbert, who also designed the set. Lighting design and special effects are by Erin Beatie, and costume design is by Paulette Sand-Gilbert. The cast consists of both longtime Nevada County actors and several newcomers, and includes Trish Adair, Rebecca Allington, Louis Flint Ceci, Chase Coney, Audrey Delgado, Darrell Hovander, Tina Marie Kelley, Steve Lambert, Patrick Moore, Tony Muller, Tracie Nickle, Michele Fitzhugh Nesbit, Patrick Shannon, Melinda Thomas, and John Watson.

"'You Can't Take It With You' is one of the most famous and most performed plays of the American theatre with good reason," says director Scott Gilbert. "It is a hilarious romp, a madcap farce, and a touching examination of how best to live life, full of delightful characters and outrageous scenes. It's the kind of play where you think 'oh yeah, that old thing, seen it a hundred times,' but then when you actually read it or see it, you say 'That is so great!'"

"The play endures - and audiences continue to love it - because it is really, really funny," says Gilbert. "The characters are vivid, the situation is fascinating, the jokes are sharp. The play has more jokes, more ideas, more memorable characters, and more fun than almost any other script from the Twentieth Century. You can see very clearly how this play influenced the best television sitcoms and romantic comedy movies. When I mention that I am working on 'You Can't It With You' to friends, both in the theatrical profession and out, they invariably are surprised and delighted, and have some story about why the play is special to them."

"You Can't Take It With You" has a rich history of popular production in Nevada County, the most recent one being by The Foothill Theatre Company in the early 2000's. The Sierra Stages production aims to both delight audience members who have loved the play before, and surprise folks who have never heard of the play with how wonderfully funny it can be. Says Gilbert, "It is hard for me to imagine audiences not falling in love with this cast and their charming antics."

Performances of "You Can't Take It With You" are Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2:00 PM. (Note: There is no performance on Thursday, September 27.) All seating is reserved. For the first two "preview" performances on Thursday, September 20 and Friday, September 21, all tickets are $20 (seats in all rows). For all other performances, tickets are $35 (seats in rows A-H) and $25 (seats in rows J-O). Group rates are available for groups of 10 or more, and Student Rush (age 25 & under with a valid student ID) is $15 at the door (subject to availability) beginning 30 minutes before each performance. For tickets and information, visit www.SierraStages.org or call Sierra Stages at 530.346.3210.

Also this fall, don't miss the final two Theater by the Book play readings co-presented by Sierra Stages and the Miners Foundry Cultural Center. On Wednesday, October 17, Sandra Rockman directs "Marjorie Prime" by Jordan Harrison, and on Wednesday November 14, John Deaderick directs "God of Carnage" by Yasmina Reza. Theater by the Book play readings are free, with a $10 suggested donation at the door. Doors open at 7:00 PM, and readings begin at 7:30 PM. All readings take place at the Miners Foundry, 325 Spring Street, Nevada City. For more information, visit www.SierraStages.org or the www.minersfoundry.org.

Sierra Stages is a nonprofit community theatre based in western Nevada County with a mission to provide quality productions that are affordable and accessible to everyone. Since it began nine years ago, Sierra Stages has presented 33 plays and musicals and 30 informal play readings (as part of Theater by the Book co-presented with the Miners Foundry Cultural Center.

For more information about Sierra Stages, visit www.SierraStages.org

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