Ralph Waite and Kate Burton will star in the world premiere of Lake Hollywood, which will close the John Guare season at the Signature Theatre Company in New York. The drama, which tracks a married couple's lives, will begin performances March 30, open April 13 and run through May 9. Douglas Hughes and Itamar Kubovy will co-direct the new piece.
The play tells of Agnes and Andrew and takes them from New Hampshire to New York, from 1940 to 1990. The story begins just prior to America's entry into WWII, as Agnes brings Andrew to meet her off-balance family at their country house on Lake Winnepassauki, New Hampshire. A "rural farce" of the Chekhov stamp follows, complete with Three Sisters like wildfires burning off-stage. Act two leaps ahead a half a century to Agnes and Andrew's tenement home in Hell's Kitchen.
Waite will play the older Andrew, while Burton is the younger Agnes. Waite has previously performed at the Signature, acting in Horton Foote's The Young Man from Atlanta. Burton can currently be seen in The Beauty Queen of Leenane on Broadway.
Also in the cast will be Adam Grupper as Young Andrew, Josh Harto as Randolph, Pamela Nyberg as Mrs. Larry, Amy Wright as Flo, Alan North as Uncle Ambrose, Betty Miller as Older Agnes and Natalie Paulding as Monica.
Hughes' recent credits include Mystery School with Tyne Daly, David Rabe's A Question of Mercy and Tim Blake Nelson's Anadarko. Kubovy has directed throughout the world, at theatres in Germany, Sweden and the U.S. Lake Hollywood replaces an ambitious mounting of Guare's four play "Nantucket" series. Earlier this fall, Guare announced that New York's Signature Theatre Company would conclude its season dedicated to him by performing, in repertory, the three plays of his "Nantucket" series, plus his new work, The Book of Judith.
Soon, however, the costly nature of the venture became apparent. Mounting the quartet of plays would involve a great outlay of money, much of it on a 30-member cast. As a result, the Signature opted to present a single new Guare play.
The "Nantucket" series follows a group of idealistic 19th century characters and their attempts to create a utopian society. The plays include Gardenia , Lydie Breeze , Women in Water as well as the new Judith.
Bosoms and Neglect, starring Mary Louise Wilson, was the most recent Guare offering at the Signature.
For memberships and information on the Signature Theatre season call (212) 244-PLAY.
-- By Robert Simonson
