BWW Preview: ROUNDELAY Reading

The 4A's (Alan Ayckbourn Aficionados of America) will present a staged reading of ROUNDELAY, a new play by Sir Alan Ayckbourn. The event will mark Ayckbourn's 77th birthday in April and his return to New York's Brits Off-Broadway Festival in May. ROUNDELAY consists of five interconnected one-act plays written to be performed in random order. Audiences at the readings will pick titles from a hat to determine the evening's progression. About the show Ayckbourn said, "This play is an attempt by me to emphasize the 'live-ness' of theater. The individual plays each have a different tone and so the order effects whether the evening begins with a melancholy vibe or a manic farce."

ROUNDELAY has not been performed in the USA so this is a rare opportunity for audiences to be among the first to hear Ayckbourn's 78th full-length play. The 4A's have previously produced celebrations of the author's work to mark his 50th year of writing in 2009 and his 75th birthday in 2014. They also presented a series of readings called "Unheard Ayckbourn," concentrating on plays not frequently performed. ROUNDELAY will be directed by Michael T. Mooney, the troupe's founder. The cast includes Ayckbourn veterans Gloria Lamoureux (Blanche Holgate), Valerie Stack Dodge (Gale Devonne), Rob Sullivan (Russ Timms), as well as 4A's newcomers Dawn Morvillo (Lindy Kuze), Jon Heron (Tom Holgate), Mark Phelan (Ashley Kuyper), Peter Horn (Lance), Dave Duncan (Leo Axminster), and introducing Gabriella Scerbo (Roz Perkins).

Readings will be held at two locations in two different New Jersey counties: in Morris County at Black River Playhouse (home of the Chester Theatre Group), 54 Grove Street, Chester, on Saturday, April 2nd at 8pm hosted by Chester Theatre Group at Black River Playhouse, call 908.879.7304 for reservations. Admission is $15. www.chestertheatregroup.org

The second reading will be held in Monmouth County at the Duncan Smith Theatre (home of the Holmdel Theatre Company), 36 Crawfords Corner Road, Holmdel, on Monday, April 4th at 7pm. In Holmdel, admission is complimentary as party of their ongoing reading series. No reservations are required in Holmdel. www.holmdeltheatrecompany.org

At both locations, the readings will be followed by a discussion and an opportunity for questions.