The Vermont Theatre Company Presents

The Man Who Came to Dinner

By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman

Directed by Marilyn Tullgren

April 23-May 2, 2010

“The Man Who Came to Dinner” tells the story of what happens when the acidic prince of impolitic wits–-spoiled, sentimental, epithet-spouting Sheridan Whiteside” is forced to convalesce in the home of the Stanleys, a prominent family in Mesala, Ohio, when he slips on the ice on their doorstep and is forced to convalesce in their home.  And thus begins Hart and Kaufman's riotous comedy, with the celebrated, cantankerous critic, Sheridan Whiteside, turning the Stanley's household into his personal kingdom and the Stanley family into his personal servants.  From there it's just one madcap surprise after another, from penguins and octopuses to visitors based on such real-life characters as Noel Coward and Harpo Marx. The original production was an immediate hit, and 72 years later the play remains one of the most‐frequently revived of all American comedies.

VTC's production of  “The Man Who Came to Dinner” is directed by Marilyn Tullgren and features David Peck as Sheldon Whiteside, Melinda Mcreven as Maggie Cutler, CJ Cummings as Lorraine Sheldon, and Samuel Murphy as Bert Jefferson.  Brenda Seitz plays Miss Preen, Whiteside's nurse, Bill Pearre and Belle Coles play Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, Sam Murphy is Bert Jefferson, Mark Tullgren is Banjo, Lester Matathias is Beverly Carlton, Mike Jerald is Dr. Bradley, Taylor Patno plays Richard Stanley, Tracy Therieau is June Stanley, Jay Gelter as John, Nancy Groff is Harriet Stanley, Bridget Mcbride is Sarah, Marvin Shedd is Prof. Metz, Jenny Holan and Nell Curley play the old biddies, Josh Gold and John Ogorzalek are the convicts, radio technicians and delivery men.

A Note About the Play:  The authors made little secret that Whiteside was patterned after their friend, Alexander Woollcott. Many felt the character of Lorraine Sheldon was modeled after Gertrude Lawrence, while two other supporting figures, the suave Beverly Carlton and the madcap Banjo, were suggested by Noel Coward and Harpo Marx respectively.  John Anderson wrote in the Journal‐American that no such richly Falstaffian character as Whiteside had heretofore been created in American literature, “No one so full of the carbolic acid of human kindness; no one with the enthusiasm, the ruthless wit, the wayward taste, disarming prejudice, and relentless sentimentality of the man so carefully undisguised as the hero.” The Sam H. Harris production was an immediate hit, and the play remains one of the most‐frequently revived of all American comedies. Notable Whitesides on Broadway have included Ellis Rabb in 1980 and Nathan Lane in 2000. The play was turned into the short‐lived musical Sherry! in 1967.

Performances

Fridays & Saturdays April 23, 24*, 30, & May 1at 7:30 p.m.
Sundays April 25 & May 2 at 3:00 p.m.
Evening Star Grange, Dummerston

Reservations are strongly recommended
802-258-1344

$12 general admission
$10 Seniors, Students, and Matinees

*The Performance on Saturday, April 24, at 7:30
will be interpreted in American Sign Language (ASL)