Theatre Memphis Serves Up THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER on the Lohrey Stage

By: Apr. 12, 2019
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Theatre Memphis Serves Up THE MAN WHO CAME TO DINNER on the Lohrey Stage

The Man Who Came to Dinner, a classic American stage comedy, opens on the Lohrey Stage April 26 and runs through May 12, 2019. Written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, this 1930's madcap play features as a well-known radio wit, Sheridan Whiteside, who falls while dining at the home of prominent socialites making him an unexpected guest for six weeks of recovery. The hosts, however, are most in need of recovery as Whiteside invites in what becomes a glamorous and odd three-ring circus of comic chaos which grows to include a luncheon for homicidal convicts and a complete children's choir.


"Sitting in a rehearsal listening to a cast of 24 actors laughing out loud at the lines and situations from their fellow cast members answers any question about the popularity of this play," says a smiling director, Jerry Chipman. The play first appeared on Broadway in 1939, is frequently revived on Broadway, is a regional theater staple and the 1942 movie version often turns up on Turner Classic Movies. Chipman continues, "The play comfortably lays claim to its reputation as one of the great classic American comedies and time has done nothing to dull its wicked sense of biting satire. It's a perfectly constructed comedy, it's wildly funny, it has some romance, some outrageousness and some thinly disguised real life celebrities you may recognize."

"It's all in the timing ..." Theatre Memphis Executive Producer Debbie Litch laughs, "... and, with a stellar cast like this one, all the funny bits just come together coupled with Jerry's sense of comedy." Litch continues, "With all the stress that life can bring, there is nothing better than to sit back and just belly laugh at a production like this one. And if laughter is the best medicine, then this show is like a pharmacy."



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