Carole Schweid, Artistic Director of Play With Your Food directs Michael DiLiberto, actor to appear in role of John Adams in February performance of 1776 (Contributed photo)
Westport, CT - Following the 10th Anniversary season launch of its lunchtime theatre series, Play With Your Food (PWYF) returns to area stages on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, February 7 , 8, 9 at Toquet Hall in Westport and on Tuesday, February 14 at the Fairfield Theatre Company.
A theatrical adaptation of John & Abigail Adams’ personal love letters is the centerpiece of this aptly romantic program. The readings of the letters, which were compiled by The Miracle Worker author, William Gibson, will be complemented by a musical performance of a love duet from the Tony winning Broadway hit 1776.
John and Abigail Adams exchanged a noteworthy collection of thoughtful, loving, and emotional letters during years of frequent separations. The letters provide powerful insights on the birth of the American nation, as well as the beauty of their personal commitment to each other. “Audiences will be transported back in time through these intelligent and passionate letters,” notes Artistic Director Carole Schweid. “John and Abigail poured their hearts into their letters, and simultaneously left behind marvelously detailed accounts of the time.”
1776 first won the Tony for Best Musical in 1969, on its way to successful Broadway, national tour and London runs. The musical, with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards and a book by Peter Stone, was made into a film in 1972 and revived on Broadway in 1997. “We’ll perform a section of Piddle, Twiddle and Resolve, which sings of both the friendship and love between John and Abigail,” continued Carole. “The couple was committed to forming a “more perfect union” during long periods of hardship.”
Rounding out the PWYF program, which runs from 12noon – 1:30pm and includes lunch, are two short plays. The Kiss, by L.A. writer Mark Harvey Levine, is a sexy, sweet piece which explores possibilities and the limits of friendship. In The Trap is a play about falling in and out of them…a little bit like love. Lunch will be catered by DaPietro’s Restaurant in Westport and Layla’s Falafel authentic Middle Eastern cuisine at the Fairfield Theatre Company.
Performances at Westport’s Toquet Hall, 62 Post Road East, are Tuesday through Thursday, February 7th, 8th (sold out) and 9th. The performances at the Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford Street, will be one day only (Valentine’s Day) on Tuesday, February 14th. Tickets, including lunch, are $43 with advance reservations required. Order online at www.jibproductions.org or by calling the box office at 203.293.8831 (Mon - Fri, 10am – 4pm).
March performances of Play with Your Food begin in Toquet Hall in Westport on March 6, 7 (sold out), 8 and will include Mexico City (Hannah Moscovitz), The Loop (Warren Leight) and I Know (Jacquelyn Reingold) with lunch provided by Matsu Sushi. On Tuesday, March 13, the same program will take place at the Fairfield Theatre Company with lunch catered by Tuckers. At the Greenwich Arts Council in Greenwich on Wednesday and Thursday, March 14, 15, the selection of plays will highlight The Rats by Agatha Christie with lunch catered by Le Pain Quotidien. For ticket costs or to order online, visit www.jibproductions.org or call the box office at 203-293-8831 (Mon-Fri, 10 am – 4 pm).
