Generic Theater Celebrates its 35th Season with MORNING'S AT SEVEN

March 5, Generic Theater marks its thirty-fifth anniversary with Paul Osborn's gentle comedy Morning's at Seven.

Performances take place at the Players' Ring, 105 Marcy Street, Portsmouth NH. Show times are Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 3 pm. Tickets cost $15, with discounts for seniors, students, and Players' Ring members.

Set in the Midwest in 1938, Morning's at Seven offers a slice of American family life in a much simpler time. Four sisters, three husbands, a nephew and a fiancée make up the warmhearted, wrangling cast of characters. When the play opens, nephew Homer, 40 years old and still living at home, is finally bringing Myrtle, his fiancée of seven years, to meet the folks. Myrtle's arrival sets off a sequence of events that turns this extended dysfunctional family upside down.

Homer's reluctant move into marriage unearths old fault lines in the continuing love stories of his long-mingled aunts and uncles. Romance still jars this family well into the autumn of their lives. It brings out their quirks, spells, and foibles, and also their abiding strength.

Generic Theater produced this play in 2004, garnering a Spotlight Award for best production and enjoying the strong ensemble spirit of the comedy. This time, Peggi McCarthy directs a cast that includes Cary Wendell, Helen Brock, Barbara Hilton, Susan Turner, Richard DiMario, Alan Huisman and Maureen Daley as the elders. Peter Michaud and Kate Quisumbing play Homer and Myrtle.

Since their first performances in January 1982, Generic Theater has offered plays and readings for Seacoast audiences. Over thirty-five years, the company and its actors have received multiple awards for productions and acting. Most of the players in Morning's at Seven have been with the group for at least ten years, several for more than twenty. McCarthy, Wendell and Brock all helped to found the troupe in the fall of 1981. There's also a newcomer, according to GT tradition.

About the Players Ring. Since 1992, the mission of The Players' Ring has been to promote the efforts of local artists through the production of original works, while providing an affordable theatre space to local production companies. "The Ring" provides an environment where artists can thrive, grow, take risks and make daring choices.

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