Rue McClanahan and Morrow Wilson end their run in Ayckbourn's Communicating Doors, the time-tripping thriller currently running at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, MA, on July 14. The play began performances on July 2. Pamela Hunt directs.
Communicating Doors proved a solid Off-Broadway hit for Ayckbourn a couple seasons back. That production starred Mary-Louise Parker, who recently won a Tony Award for Proof. The mounting also starred David McCallum, under the direction of Christopher Ashley.
McClanahan will be putting in more time on stage this year. This coming fall, she will star in the Roundabout Theatre Company's mounting of Clare Booth Luce's The Women, directed by Scott Elliott.
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The Cape Playhouse of Dennis, MA, will enliven its Sunday afternoons this summer with a new "Weekend Series." On various Sundays through July and August, a disparate range of artists will perform their one-person shows. The program began with movie and stage musical veteran Nanette Fabray. On July 8, at 4 PM and 7 PM, she regaled audiences with songs and reminiscences of her showbiz days — presumedly touching upon her role in the classic MGM flick "The Band Wagon."
On July 22 at 5 PM, author and all-around raconteur Malachy McCourt will spin yarns about his by-now-well-known childhood growing up poor and happy in Ireland. McCourt is the author of the memoir "A Monk Swimming" and is the brother of Frank McCourt ("Angela's Ashes"). Finally, on Aug. 5, monologuist Spalding Gray will bring his most recent monologue Morning, Noon and Night to the playhouse for one show only at 4 PM.
The Cape Playhouse's anniversary gala will occur Aug. 19. Many veterans of the theatre are expected to attend.
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The remaining 2001 schedule runs as follows:
• Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley, July 16-28
• 42nd Street, July 30-Aug. 11
• The Cocktail Hour by A.R. Gurney, Aug. 13-25
• Oil City Symphony, Aug. 27-Sept. 8
The Playhouse was founded by Raymond Moore. The quaint, white shingled, 600-seat theatre was built in 1838 and features a wrap-around balcony. Among the many noteworthy productions to be staged there over the years was a 1937 Hamlet starring Eva LeGallienne in the title role and Uta Hagen, in her professional debut, as Ophelia.
Tickets run $15-$35. The Cape Playhouse is located in Dennis, MA, at 820 Route 6A. For more information, call (508) 385-3911.
—By Robert Simonson
