World Premiere Play, Geoffrey & Jeffrey, to Pay Tribute to Absent Friend in MI | Playbill

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News World Premiere Play, Geoffrey & Jeffrey, to Pay Tribute to Absent Friend in MI A beloved and much-missed Michigan theatre artist is the inspiration for a new play to premiere this fall at the Performance Network in Ann Arbor.

Geoffey & Jeffrey, by Michigan playwright Kim Carney, will play Nov. 6-Dec. 28. It "chronicles the relationship of a long-term gay couple who have hit a rough patch and how they are affected by the appearance of a daughter and granddaughter that one of them never knew he had," according to production notes. "It's a comedy that explores the changing definition of the word family."

Carney, a prolific writer whose works have been staged at Michigan theatres and beyond, told Playbill.com, "Geoffrey & Jeffrey was inspired by Jim Posante, my director and close friend, and his life-partner Charlie Sutherland, with whom he had spent over 35 happy years. When we first worked together, Jim introduced me to a grown daughter he never knew he had until several years earlier when she called him out of the blue. He also discovered he was a grandfather. I thought that would be an interesting idea for a play. But it wasn't until I spent an evening with Jim and Charlie, listening to them bicker lovingly like an old married couple, that I discovered the relationship I wanted to be the heart of the play.

"We had the first reading of the script back in December [2007] — Jim absolutely loved it and was eager to direct. Unfortunately, he died of a massive stroke only a few weeks later."

She calls Geoffrey & Jeffrey her "tribute to Jim and the love of his life."

David Wolber will direct a cast that includes Paul Hopper, Tom Whalen, Laurel Hufano and Heidi Bennett. The creative team includes set designer Monika Essen, light designer Daniel C. Walker and sound designer Ken Faulk. *

Posante, a Michigan director, actor, teacher and choreographer who was a beloved fixture in the Ann Arbor theatre community, died Jan. 13 following a sudden stroke.

The 59-year-old theatre artist suffered a massive stroke, prompting "hundreds of friends, family, students and colleagues" to visit him at the University of Michigan hospital "to show their support to his family and be with Jim in his last hours," according to Wolber, artistic director of Performance Network, where Posante as an active associate artist.

He directed the company's 2007-08 production of Souvenir. Among his other credits at Performance Network, Ann Arbor's Off-Broadway-style theatre, are choreography for The Baker's Wife, which featured his longtime partner, Charlie Sutherland, who survives him; co-direction of Take Me Out; and direction of two new works by Carney — The Home Team and Moonglow.

Posante taught theatre at the private Greenhills School in Ann Arbor for more than 30 years, influencing thousands. He recently staged a student production of Twelfth Night there.

Posante had worked with many theatre companies over the years, including Ann Arbor Civic Theater, the U-M Gilbert & Sullivan Society, Purple Rose Theatre Company, The Blackbird Theatre and more.

Performance Network is at 120 E. Huron in Ann Arbor. Visit www.performancenetwork.org.

 
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