Arroyo Repertory Theatre will launch its second play of the 2001 season, Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, on Jan. 27. The run is through Feb. 24. Matt Foyer directs a cast that includes Joanne McGee, Daniel Pickett, Jeremy Kent Jackson, Christine Zirbel, Kelie McIver, Brett Vadsett, Davida Bourland, John Mackey, Mary Burkin, Michael Martines, Ed Brigadier, Felipe Galvez, Deborah Levin, Dana Craig and Jeff Shevlowitz.

The Matchmaker is a non-musical presentation of a story that became the basis of the Broadway musical, Hello Dolly!. Set in 19th-century New York, the play was first produced in 1954 and was a reworking of an earlier Wilder play, The Merchant of Yonkers, which in turn was based on an 1842 Viennese play derived from the English comedy by John Oxenford, A Day Well Spent (1835).

McGee plays Dolly. She has performed in numerous classical roles with Excalibur Theatre and Nevada Shakespeare Festival. Horace Vandergelder is portrayed by Serembe, who essayed the title role in Arroyo's production of The Imaginary Invalid.

Arroyo Repertory Theatre is based at St. James United Methodist Church, 2033 E. Washington Blvd. For tickets and information call (626) 398-6522.

— By Willard Manus
Southern California Correspondent