Grosse Pointe Theatre Presents RELATIVELY SPEAKING, 1/20 - 1/29

Grosse Pointe Theatre presents Relatively Speaking, a witty, charming and beautifully constructed comedy of manners and mistaken identities from one of England's most popular modern playwrights, Alan Ayckbourn.

The show opens with a 2:00 p.m. matinee on Sunday, January 16 in the Fries Auditorium of the Grosse Pointe War Memorial, 32 Lake Shore Road , Grosse Pointe Farms. Relatively Speaking continues with shows on January 20, 21 and 22 at 8:00 p.m., January 23 at 2:00 p.m., and January 26, 27, 28 and-29 at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $18. Group rates are available. Call 313-881-4004 for tickets or visit the Grosse Pointe Theatre website at www.gpt.org for more information.

Playwright Alan Ayckbourn considers Relatively Speaking the best play he has written.

The plot involves Greg, a young man, who plans to marry Ginny. Greg visits, unexpectedly, the country home of a middle-aged couple, Sheila and Phillip, whom he believes to be Ginny's parents. Then Ginny shows up too. Hilarious events ensue as characters grapple with a tangled web of mistaken identity and misinterpretation. Only the audience knows the real story. This is a classic farce by Ayckbourn at his best!

The roles of the older couple, Sheila and Philip, are played by Delores Basile of Grosse Pointe Woods and Nick Szczerba of Woodhavn. The young couple, Greg and Ginny, are played by Matt Raya of Sterling Heights, and Annie Kordas of Grosse Pointe Farms.

Relatively Speaking is directed by Barbara Bentley of Grosse Pointe and assisted by Mike Trudel of Grosse Pointe Park. Ms. Bentley also designed the set. Lyndsey Briggs, of Grosse Pointe Woods, is the producer.

Also working behind the scenes are stage manager, Mickie Pizzimenti (Warren); technical directors: Bob Brown (Windsor, Ontario) and Don Adzigian (Grosse Pointe Woods); set dressing chairperson: Ruth Ellen Mayhall and properties chairperson: Francesca Catalfio (both of Grosse Pointe Farms); costume designer: Marie Delong and makeup designer: Arlene Marie Schoenherr (both of St. Clair Shores); lighting designer: Eric Leszczynski and sound chairperson: Bill Tuthill (both of Grosse Pointe Woods).

Grosse Pointe Theatre's 63rd Season continues:

Following Relatively Speaking, Grosse Pointe Theatre presents The Exonerated by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, through its Purdon Studio Theatre program, Feb. 18-20 & 26-27, 2011 at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House Activity Building, 1100 Lakeshore Road , Grosse Pointe Shores. The next main stage production (at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial) is Dixie Swim Club By Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, March 6, 10-13, 16-19, 2011, followed by The Scarlet Pimpernel, based on the works by Baroness Emmuska Orczy, book and lyrics by Nan Knighton, May 8, 12-15, 18-21, 2011. Grosse Pointe Theatre's Youth on Stage will produce a children's version of the musical, Annie Jr. with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, book by Thomas Meehan, based on the Tribune Media Service Comic Strip, Little Orphan Annie, in April 9 & 10, 2011. Call the theatre for details.

For more information about Grosse Pointe Theatre, please visit the website at www.gpt.org or phone 313-881-4004.

Photo Credit: Dale Pegg

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