Ross Valley Players to Present OLD MONEY, 7/17-8/17

For the final production of their 2013-14 season, ROSS VALLEY PLAYERS presents Old Money, a comedy that explore the differences between 'old money' and 'new money' in New York City, by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning author Wendy Wasserstein. The setting is an ornate mansion in Manhattan at two dinner parties - one in the early 1900s, and the other, 100 years later. In Old Money, Wasserstein cleverly observes how social conventions, professional eminence and family relationships have changed (little) and remained the same (largely) for over a century. Curtain Up called Old Money an "adroitly constructed dual universe - clever and entertaining." Old Money begins with a preview on Thursday, July 17 and runs through Sunday, August 17. Opening night is Friday, July 18 at 8PM. www.rossvalleyplayers.com

A dinner party in a lavish mansion on the fashionable Upper East Side of Manhattan provides the scene for Old Money. Set in two eras, the early 1900s, and the beginning of the 21st century, the characters move effortlessly from one period to the other. The host, a contemporary master of high-risk arbitrage, steps in and out of character as a robber baron of an earlier time. His guests of today include a Hollywood director, a not-so-cutting-edge sculptor, an online lingerie designer, an aggressive publicist, and an aging historian. Their counterparts from the past are the great man's rebellious son, a grand dame of New York society, the architect who built the mansion originally, and the maids and servants who maintain it. In this dance of rich storytelling and social commentary, it becomes strikingly clear that while old money has become new, little else has changed over the years. Children still rebel against their controlling parents, women still hope for love, and greed, snobbery, and angst persist. Old Money is directed by Kim Bromley and produced by Maureen O'Donoghue.

Full cast includes: Jesse Lumb (Ovid/Toby), Gillian Eichenberger (Caroline/Mary), Wood Lockhart (Vivian/Schuyler), Robyn Wiley (Saulina/Sally), Geoffrey Colton (Jeffrey/Arnold), Karen Leland (Flinty/Florence), Johnny DeBernard (Sid/Pfeiffer), and Trungta Kositchaimongkol (Penny/Betina).

Performances are Thursday, July 17, 2014 (Preview Night) through Sunday, August 17, with Opening Night on Friday, July 18 at 8PM. Regular Thursday performances are at 7:30PM; Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM; Sunday matinees at 2PM. (Please note there is no matinee on Sunday, July 20.) All performances take place at the Barn Theatre, home of the Ross Valley Players - 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, Ross, CA 94957. Ticket prices are $22 for seniors 62+; $13 for children (under 18) and student with valid ID; $26 general admission. Preview night ticket prices are $10 for children and students; $15 general admission. Thursday night tickets prices are $13 for children and students with a high school or college ID, $20 for adults (does not include Thursday preview night.)

Audience members are invited to participate in "Talkback" with the director and actors after matinee performance on Sundays, July 27 and August 10. Buzz at the Barn, a pre-show cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres and wine, will take place on Saturday, July 19 at 7PM.

To order tickets, call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 or visit www.rossvalleyplayers.com.

Photo by: Robin Jackson