Deep Dish Theater Presents GOOD PEOPLE, Now thru 9/14

Good fortune is a scarce commodity in the comic drama Good People, presented by Deep Dish Theater Company today, August 23 to September 14. The play, by Pulitzer winner David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by Deep Dish Resident Director Tony Lea, kicks off the company's thirteenth season at University Mall.

Unemployed and facing eviction, Margie (Helen Hagan) learns that her high-school boyfriend Mike (Mark Filiaci) has returned to Boston to set up his medical practice. Encouraged by her friends, she decides to visit his office to see if he might have a job for her and ends up getting herself invited to his upcoming birthday party, where events take an unexpected turn. Playwright Lindsay-Abaire is the author of the celebrated play Rabbit Hole, as well asFuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Shrek the Musical, and screenplays for Oz the Great and Powerful and Rise of the Guardians.

Hagan and Filiaci have been frequent presences on the Deep Dish stage: she was most recently seen in Mi Vida Loca, and he last appeared inHenceforward.... The cast also includes Brian Fisher (who appeared in last season's She Stoops to Conquer), Sharlene Thomas (Uncle Vanya), Page Purgar (Nathan the Wise), and Rasool Jahan, making her Deep Dish debut. The design staff is comprised of Rob Hamilton (set), Jenni Mann Becker (lights), Judy Chang (costumes), Karin Bagan (properties), and Michael Betts II (sound). Karen Blansfield is the dramaturg, Tania Chelnov-Snitnow the dialect coach, Michael Brocki the technical director and Jeff Phillips the stage manager.

"Good People is a play that is wildly entertaining and funny in addition to being insightful and challenging," said director Lea. "Lindsay-Abaire writes about the clash of culture, of class, with clarity and a non-judgmental voice, showing us those conflicts and the real situations from which they arise while allowing us to see the essential humanity of the characters. The characters behave as people do, sometimes with integrity and sometimes not, the contradictions of life warring inside them."

The theater will present a pre-show "Meet the Play" talk on Friday, August 30 at 7 pm. Post-performance discussions will take place Sunday, August 25 (with dramaturg Karen Blansfield and director Tony Lea); Sunday, September 1 (with the cast and Mark Dorosin of the UNC Center for Civil Rights); and Thursday, September 5 (a "Meet the Designers" discussion with the production staff). The Deep Dish Book Selection, Down the Up Escalator: How the 99 Percent Live in the Great Recession by Barbara Garson, will be discussed on Monday September 9 at 7 pm at the Chapel Hill Public Library

Performances begin Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., and Sunday (matinee) at 2 p.m. Deep Dish is located in Chapel Hill's University Mall, on Estes Drive and US 15-501.

Tickets are $24 for adults and $21 for seniors, with a $2 discount for Wednesday and Thursday shows. Student tickets are $16 for all shows. Wednesday, August 28 is "Cheap Dish Night" - all tickets are $12 (no reservations accepted). Call 919-968-1515 for ticket reservations and for more information visit www.deepdishtheater.org.

The Deep Dish Theater Company is committed to presenting compelling, human-centered dramatic work that contributes to the cultural richness of the Triangle area and challenges audiences to explore concerns of the community and the world-at-large.

To post a comment, you must register and login.