Hedgerow Theatre Will Open 2025–26 Season With Marie Jones’ FLY ME TO THE MOON

Hedgerow Theatre Company will open its 2025–26 season with a new production of Fly Me to the Moon by Northern Irish playwright Marie Jones. Directed by Emma Gibson, the comedy will run October 15–November 2, 2025, in the company’s intimate 100-seat theatre at 64 Rose Valley Road, Media, PA. The two-hander features Barrymore Award-winning actors Marcia Saunders and Susan McKey in the lead roles.

Set in Belfast, Fly Me to the Moon follows Francis (Saunders) and Loretta (McKey), two cash-strapped community care workers whose routine visit to their elderly patient, Davey McGee, spirals into a farcical situation. Davey, a lonely man devoted to his newspaper, horse races, and memories of Frank Sinatra, becomes the catalyst for Jones’s sharply funny tale about temptation, desperation, and the unexpected choices that ordinary people face.

Jones, a Belfast-based actress and playwright, is known for socially conscious plays that highlight working-class life in Northern Ireland. Her works have been translated into 38 languages and have received numerous awards, including the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy for Stones in His Pockets. Fly Me to the Moon premiered at the Grand Opera House in Belfast in 2012 and made its American debut at 59E59 in New York later that year.

Hedgerow’s production is led by two of Philadelphia’s most acclaimed actors. Saunders, returning to Hedgerow after her performance in The New Electric Ballroom, has appeared in more than 100 productions at People’s Light and has credits with the Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and The Wilma Theater. McKey makes her Hedgerow debut in the role of Loretta, following decades of work at People’s Light, Bristol Riverside Theatre, Act II Playhouse, Theatre Horizon, and off-Broadway.

Director Emma Gibson, a U.K.-born actor, playwright, and director, returns to Hedgerow after helming its productions of The New Electric Ballroom and Nora: A Doll’s House. She is the founding artistic director of Tiny Dynamite and has received numerous honors, including winning the Pittsburgh Public’s New Play Competition and being named a finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship and the O’Neill New Play Conference.

“Fly Me to the Moon is a play about making the wrong decisions and then making the right ones,” said Gibson. “What charms me most is its optimism—the belief that, despite your circumstances, your life might just get better, Frank Sinatra might sing to you, or maybe your horse will finally come in.”

The production’s creative team includes Director of Production Kate McSorley Fossner, Scenic Designer Marie Laster, Costume Designer Nicole Lawrie, Lighting Designer Lily Fossner, and Sound Designer Emma Gibson. Additional collaborators include Dialect Coach Stephen Patrick Smith and Technical Director Pat Ahearn.

Hedgerow’s regional premiere of Fly Me to the Moon is supported by honorary producer Rebecca Bradbeer.

Ticket Information

Fly Me to the Moon will begin with a preview on Thursday, October 16, at 7:30 p.m. The production officially opens Friday, October 17, at 7:30 p.m., followed by a special post-show reception. Performances continue through Sunday, November 2. The play is recommended for audiences ages 13 and up and runs approximately 70 minutes without intermission.

Single tickets range from $25–$40. Subscription packages are also available, including the Preview Package ($95), Happy Hour Package ($134), Opening Night Package ($142), Saturday Evening or Sunday Matinee Package ($134), Flex Pass ($225 for six tickets across the season), and Access Series Package ($134) which offers relaxed performances with live audio description, sensory tours, and closed-captioning via smart glasses.