Boca Raton Theatre Guild to Present TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, 2/27-3/15

The Boca Raton Theatre Guild's production of Tuesdays with Morrie will preview on February 27th, open Saturday night February 28th, and run through March 15th at the Willow Theatre in Boca Raton's Sugar Sand Park.

Tuesdays with Morrie is columnist Mitch Albom's moving, inspirational, and often humorous chronicle of the conversations he had with his former professor and mentor Morrie Schwartz. Albom was a successful sports columnist for The Detroit Free Press; after catching Morrie on Nightline, Albom called him and the result was a series of fourteen Tuesdays during which he learned there is more to life than reporting on Wimbledon tournaments and following the tabloids. Throughout their conversations Schwartz, plagued with health complications, never lost his zest for teaching, learning, love, and above all, life.

Albom's book spent 205 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list, sold over 14 million copies, has been translated into 41 languages, and became an Emmy-award winning television movie starring Jack Lemon and Hank Azaria. In 2001 Albom collaborated with playwright Jeffrey Hatcher to adapt his work for a very successful Off Broadway production.

"I'm delighted to have to opportunity to direct this piece..." says director Genie Croft. "...To track the evolution of Mitch and Morrie's relationship as they spend time together and rekindle a bond that turns into one final class - lessons in how to live. Their conversations explore acceptance, communication, love, openness, values, and lasting happiness. Throughout the play, as they continue to meet each Tuesday, Mitch's character evolves as Morrie's stories inspire him. Their conversations are supplemented with lectures and life experiences, and interspersed with flashbacks and allusions to contemporary events."

"I had the pleasure of doing Tuesdays With Morrie five years ago at the Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples," says actor Wayne LeGette, who is playing Mitch in the BRTG production. "I found Morrie's compassion and courage to be almost saintly. It's a story about an incredibly wise man that causes both Mitch and the audience to realize that there is no hurdle insurmountable if you approach it with kindness and always keep looking forward. One day, I can't wait to play Morrie."

Howard Elfman, who plays Morrie Schwartz is equally enthusiastic. "When I read Tuesdays with Morrie I knew right then I had to do it," he says.

Tickets for Tuesdays with Morrie are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 561-347-3948. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and Saturday and Sunday at 2 pm. The Willow Theatre is located at 300 S. Military Trail, Boca Raton, 33486 (in the heart of Sugar Sand Park, just south of Palmetto Park Road).