'Happy Birthday, Wanda June' Opens at Gunston March 7

Happy Birthday, Wanda June will open at Gunston Theater Two on March 7, and will run through March 29.

"Like all of Vonnegut's works, Happy Birthday, Wanda June has multiple goals, the first of which is to entertain. But the play is also a satiric attack on the Hemingway hero and American machismo, as big game hunter Harold Ryan returns home from his own wars to find his wife Penelope fending off a variety of odd-ball suitors, just like her counterpart in Homer's Odyssey. The plot is too antic to summarize; let us just say that it involves Viet Nam, the bombing of Nagasaki, Heaven, a little girl killed by an ice-cream truck, and her friend the Nazi who is critical of Jesus' shuffleboard skills. TACT producer Rip Claassen and director Ellen Dempsey have assembled a cast that they feel are perfectly suited to the challenge of making Wanda June crackle with as much hilarity and insight as Vonnegut's original cast, which included Marsha Mason and Kevin McCarthy," describe press notes.

Starring is TACT stalwart Bill Aitken and Kari Ginsburg with Joe Cronin, Brian Crane, Brian Razzino, Bill Gordon, Debrorah Critzer; young actors Andrew Newman, Aiden Walker and Rachel Webber (as Wanda June) complete the cast.

Trena Null designs sets and props; Anne Marie designs lighting; and Rip Claassen is the costume designer. Maggie Clifton will stage manage.

The American Century Theater performs at Theatre II, Gunston Arts Center, 2700 S. Lang Street, Arlington, Virginia 22206. Performances are Thursday through Saturday evenings at 8 pm, with Saturday or Sunday matinees at 2:30 PM. More information is available at www.americancentury.org.