The Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre (The Gamm) stages the Rhode Island premiere of Good People, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire's tough, tender and seriously funny play about class divisions and the shrinking American Dream. Directed by Rachel Walshe (Anne Boleyn, Mauritius), Good Peopleruns from November 7 through December 8 at The Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange St., Pawtucket, RI. Tickets are $38 and $48 (depending on day/time); preview and press performances (Nov. 7-11) are just $28. Discounts for subscribers, groups of 10 or more, seniors and students. Tickets at 401-723-4266 or gammtheatre.org.
Set in South Boston, the blue-collar neighborhood where Lindsay-Abaire himself grew up, Good People explores class differences in a way few American plays do: with "quiet three-dimensional depth" (Los Angeles Times) and characters who are not easily divided between good and bad. Good People features Gamm Resident actress Jeanine Kane as Margie Walsh, let go from yet another job and facing eviction; and Boston-based actor Bill Mootos, as Margie's old flame who has made good and left his Southie past behind.
Boston native and Pulitzer-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) explodes the Hollywood version of class in America with his Tony-nominated play, Good People. When Margie Walsh, a single mother with a severely disabled adult daughter, loses her job at a South Boston dollar store, she looks to her high-school boyfriend turned successful doctor for a new job. But her attempt to hit up "Dr. Mike," who left working-class "Southie" for the manicuRed Lawns of Chestnut Hill, takes a surprising turn when Margie realizes the power of a secret from her old flame's past. Unsentimental and seriously funny, Good People topples moral stereotypes and lets neither characters nor audience off easy.
"As tough as it is tender, and shot through with aching authenticity." -Hollywood Reporter
"Good People is good stuff, a keenly observed rumination on how far decency can get you and how much depends on sheer luck as you try to grab a piece of the American Dream." -Variety
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for "Best Play" (2010-11)
Gamm Artistic Director Tony Estrella noted the timeliness of the production, saying, "Good People is a great play and particularly powerful right now as we navigate government shutdowns, affordability of health care, pension liability and redefine what it means to 'make it' in America. It's a play for today and I can't wait to sit with you in our intimate space and watch as Rachel Walshe and an incredible cast bring Lindsay-Abaire's funny, shocking morality play to life."
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