Whether or not they found the proverbial "real thing," Houston's Alley Theatre close their production of Tom Stoppard's play, The Real Thing, June 18 on the main stage. Performances began May 19 with an opening May 24. Alley artistic director Gregory Boyd directs.
In The Real Thing, the real thing -- aka love -- is explored through successful playwright Henry, who always has the right words for his often adulterous characters, but can't seem to find them again when his own relationships turn sour and complicated. Stoppard also penned the Tony Award winners Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead and Travesties.
The current Broadway revival of the play cleaned up at the 2000 Tony Awards, netting Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play (Stephen Dillane) and Best Actress in a Play (Jennifer Ehle). That staging, brought to America via London's Donmar Warehouse and the West End, ends at the Barrymore Theatre Aug. 13.
John Feltch, in his tenth season at the Alley, stars as Henry. Also in the cast are John Tyson as Max, Kate Levy (An Empty Plate in the Cafe du Grand Boeuf) as Charlotte, Elizabeth Heflin (Broadway's The Government Inspector, The Odd Couple) as Annie, Jonthan Scarfe as Billy, Laura Heisler as Debbie and Robert Ross as Brodie.
Designing The Real Thing are Neil Patel (sets), Karyl Newman (costumes), Pat Collins (lighting) and Malcolm Nicholls (sound). Tickets are $42-$37 and are available by calling the Alley box office at (713) 228-9341 ext. 350. The Alley Theatre is on the web at http://www.alleytheatre.com.
