'A Marriage Minuet' The Games of Marriage

FST Presents A Marriage Minuet

A Literary Dance to the Games of Marriage 

Florida Studio Theatre is preparing to open the final show in its 2006-2007 Winter Mainstage Season. A Marriage Minuet previews on April 11& 12 at 8 pm, and runs April 13 - June 9. 

A Marriage Minuet tells the witty tale of two married couples who know the temptations of monogamy all too well. For these middle-class suburbanites, flirtation leads to temptation, and temptation leads to infidelity. Five sophisticated characters provide a theatrical glimpse into the never-ending dance that we call marriage in this new play by David Wiltse. 

Playwright David Wiltse stylizes his contemporary comedy with characteristics of a Restoration Comedy. Opening with a courtly waltz performed over a dazzling minuet, the stage is set with hypocritical socialites.  The action and dialogue of the play is predominately modern with the exception of the actors' thoughts.  Using the devices of asides to the audience and subtext spoken aloud from one character to another, Wiltse provides a world where the audience is privy to the real thoughts and feelings underneath the veil of what individuals often speak aloud.   

The SSG Syndicate says Wiltse "blends sassy, fast-paced dialogue with the characters' caustic inner chatter as they think aloud, thus breaking the fourth wall, making the audience into an accomplice. In addition to his deft wordplay, Wiltse's observational humor is delicious in its decadence, concluding: 'But who can concentrate when there's sex on the agenda?'" 

While maintaining the sophistication and design of the classics, Wiltse still manages to master a "light, bright comedy" according to Variety.  At its core the play is a modern evaluation of morality as it pertains to the marriage relationship.  Make no mistake; audiences coming to A Marriage Minuet will see a contemporary romantic comedy taken to the modern extreme.  The play's intellectual characters ultimately reflect the flaws all individuals have in our personal relationships, and how funny those flaws can be. 

A Marriage Minuet is being directed by Pamela Hunt who returns to FST where she also directed Sylvia, Cakewalk, Master Class, Invasion of Privacy for the Mainstage and Motown Cabaret for the Cabaret. In Sarasota, she has also directed Communicating Doors and I Hate Hamlet at The Asolo Theatre. The cast features new FST actors Paul Hebron and Amy McKenna, portraying Douglas and Lily Zweig and Teresa Reilly as the Girl; Rex and Violet Franklin are played by returning FST actors, Jason O'Connell (Ten Unknowns, The Goat) and Stacey Scotte (Ruthless).  The design team for this show includes Nayna Ramey as the scenic designer and Marcella Beckwith designing costumes. 

The Stamford Advocate calls A Marriage Minuet "a smart look at the game of marriage" and Wiltse's language "gorgeous and quick – richly theatrical."

Florida Studio Theatre

1241 North Palm Avenue

Sarasota, Florida 34236

Box Office 941-366-9000

Website www.fst2000.org

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