Wife Whips Husband Into Shape — Literally — in Adirondack Fest's Behave Yourself, Starring Day
By Kenneth Jones
27 Jun 2007
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Johanna Day
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| photo by Aubrey Reuben | Tony Award nominee Johanna Day, of Broadway's Proof, stars in the world premiere of Leslie Ayvazian's comedy Behave Yourself at the Adirondack Theatre Festival June 27-July 7.
Townsfolk in Glen Falls, NY, are whispering about the content of the show — about a suburban couple's use of whips, chains and other dominatrix props. How else do you make an empty nest exciting? Opening is June 28.
Behave Yourself is billed as a comedy about a suburban mom looking to break out of the roles of her marriage. According to ATF, the play "examines questions of power in married couples through the comical story of Connie (Johanna Day) and Eddie (Bruce MacVittie), a suburban couple whose relationship is turned upside down when Connie takes an 'empowerment' class which ends up with her wielding a whip around the house after their daughters leave for school. Things get more complicated as their neighbors start to hear noises from next door and we meet Connie's teacher Mistress Lorraine and her politician client."
The cast also includes Brenda Currin, Hal Robinson, Joan Rosenfels and Brian Russell.
Bruce MacVittie's 30 years of credits include playing opposite Al Pacino in American Buffalo on Broadway, plus film appearances in "The Cotton Club," "Born on the Fourth of July," "The Doors," "Million Dollar Baby" and, most recently, "Lonely Hearts."
Day appeared in ATF's Three Tall Women in 1996.
The new comedy is directed by ATF artistic director Martha Banta, who is spending her last summer as the troupe's leader; this is her final directorial assignment as artistic director.
Beyond her work at ATF, Banta directed at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park this past season and continued in her role as the resident director for Mamma Mia! on Broadway and on tour.
As previously announced, ATF founders Banta and producing director David Turner are leaving the moutain greenery of upstate Glen Falls, NY. Turner will remain on the not-for-profit troupe's board.
This marks ATF's 15th world premiere in 13 summers — a notable record for a company that only produces in the summer.
Writer Ayvazian performed her solo show High Dive at ATF in 2005. Behave Yourself was developed in summer 2006 by ATF and the Cape Cod Theater Project. ATF received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for this production.
The creative team of Behave Yourself includes Matt Frey (lights), Eric Renschler (set), Jill Duboff (sound) and Randall Klein (costumes).
Ayvazian is best known for her play Nine Armenians, which has been produced around the country. As an actress, she appeared in A Naked Girl on the Appian Way on Broadway.
ATF performances play the Charles Wood Theater in downtown Glens Falls, NY.
For more information, call (518) 798-7479 or visit www.ATFestival.org.
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Lisa Kron will be the second Tony nominee at ATF in Glen Falls, NY, this summer. Kron (who wrote and starred in Well, for which she was Tony-nommed), will appear in her solo play 2.5 Minute Ride, July 9-14.
Colin Hanlon will appear in Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-writer Jonathan Larson's musical tick, tick…BOOM!, the autobiographical pop-rock musical Larson wrote before his breakthrough smash Rent. Gabriel Barre directs. Gary Adler will musical direct. It plays July 19-28.
The season will also include a two-night work-in-progress presentation of Tiny Feats of Cowardice July 1-2. The piece is a musical solo show by Susan Bernfield. According to ATF, "Susan is afraid of planes, vacation, cars, fire, heights, scuba gear, toasters and so much more. In this show she is brave enough to sing to us about how much of a scaredy cat she is."
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