Cast Announced for MORNING'S AT SEVEN at The Peterborough Players

Before Paul Osborn wrote the screenplay for Rodgers and Hammerstein's box office hit South Pacific, he wrote a hysterical, semi-autobiographical Broadway comedy that captures Midwestern eccentricity to hilarious effect. Winner of 4 Tony Awards, Morning's at Seven is a funny and deeply poignant look at the foibles of a close-knit Midwestern family in the 1930s. It opens at the Peterborough Players on July 17th. ?

Theatrical director and influential critic Harold Clurman called Morning's at Seven "one of the best American comedies" with good reason. The four highly strung Gibbs sisters have lived next door to each other most of their lives. Now in their 60s, one is single and three are married. Esther, the eldest, has managed an escape with her husband, to a few blocks away. Ida has produced a child: Homer, who is now 40, and may or may not have the courage, after twelve years of courtship, to get married himself.? What will the Gibbs sisters do when Homer brings his lady friend home to meet the family? With eccentricities on full display, the family navigates the visit and each other.

A large cast of Players' favorites appear as the family of "Michiganders". Kathy Manfre (The Drowsy Chaperone, Ripcord at the Players, Trick or Treat at NYC's 59 E 59th Theatre), Becky London (Gertrude Stein and a Companion, Full Gallop at the Players, Broadway's Marlene), Dale Hodges (Arsenic and Old Lace, Outside Mullingar at the Players, Broadway's original production of Equus), and Lisa Bostnar (Annapurna, The Voysey Inheritance at the Players, The Madras House and others at the Mint Theatre) play the Gibbs sisters.

They're joined by Greg Wood (Pygmalion, Absurd Person Singular at the Players, Skylight at the McCarter Theatre), Kraig Swartz (The Drowsy Chaperone, Tru at the Players, Fully Committed at the Philadelphia Theatre Co. and more), Ken Sheldon (Our Town, Inherit the Wind at the Players, Fred Marple of Frost Heaves), Tom Frey (2 Pianos 4 Hands, The Producers at the Players, Road Show at Stages Repertory Theatre) and Bridget Beirne (Sexy Laundry, ...Patsy Cline at the Players, That Time of the Year at the York Theatre). Directed by Players' Artistic Director Gus Kaikkonen, Morning's at Seven reveals a familial - or is it familiar? - look at how we cope with those closest to us in our lives.

Morning's at Seven runs from July 17th-28th and is exclusively sponsored by C&S Wholesale Grocers. Showtimes are Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 4pm. In addition, there is a 2pm matinee on Tuesday, July 23rd. Tickets and more information can be found at www.peterboroughplayers.org, or by calling the Box Office at (603) 924-7585.

Peterborough Players is New Hampshire's premiere professional regional theater. Known for an annual Summer Season consisting of 7 main stage productions and 2 children's shows, the Players also now produces a 3-play Winter Season and continues to offer the Arts on Screen series that includes screenings of renowned performances from the Metropolitan Opera and London's National Theatre. The Players enriches the human experience by producing quality live professional theatre, developing and training theatre artists, and offering New Hampshire a wide variety of performing arts events. Peterborough Players is sponsored in part by the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information please visit Peterborough Players, 55 Hadley Road, Peterborough, NH 03458 or www.peterboroughplayers.org

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