The relationship play was presented by the Shaw in summer 2002 in its hometown of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The run at Rochester, MI, theatre is considered smart marketing for the three-venue Canadian festival: Metro Detroiters flock across the border to the annual fest near Niagara Falls. This marks the first such international residency in the history of Meadow Brook, which has a reputation for conventional works, from Agatha Christie to Neil Simon to A Christmas Carol.

Jackie Maxwell, Shaw artistic director, helms the production, which is on a mini-tour of theatres. The 1895 play tells of a poet who comes between a reverend and his wife, challenging notions of love, spirituality and humanism. The cast includes Bernard Behrens as Mr. Burgess, Laurie Paton as Candida, Mike Shara as Eugene Marshbanks, Severn Thompson as Miss Proserpine and Blair Williams as Rev. Morrell.

Meadow Brook, the professional resident theatre on the campus of Oakland University, is Michigan's largest not for-profit theatre. For information, call (248) 377-3300 or visit www.mbtheatre.com.