Raleigh Little Theatre will present Morning’s at Seven by Evansville, Indiana-born writer and director Paul Osborn (1901-88) from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22 in its Cantey V. Sutton Theatre. Paul Osborn’s delightful domestic drama, set in small Midwestern town circa 1939, made its Broadway debut at the Longacre Theatre on Nov 30, 1939, and ran for 44 performances. It also had two Broadway revivals — in 1980-81 and 2002 — and enjoyed an award-winning local production last May by the Towne Players of Garner.
According to the RLT publicist, “This charming and sweetly funny portrait of early 20th century small-town America has stockpiled three Tony Awards and 10 nominations during its three Broadway runs. The four Gibbs sisters have made their homes side by side forever, husbands in tow. They know all too much about each other, intimately bound by their quaint quirks and long history together. Now in their autumn years, the sisters feel the winds of change gently rustling their settled lives, stirred up by the surprise engagement of a long-time bachelor son.”
The cast for Morning’s at Seven includes: John Adams as David Crampton, David Coulter as Homer Bolton, Becky Johnston as Cora Swanson, Delores Lowman-Crane as Arronetta (Arry) Gibbs, Morissa Nagel as Myrtle Brown, Sharon Pigott as Esther (Esty) Gibbs Crampton, Dennis Rogers as Thor Swanson, Tim Wiest as Carl Bolton, and Linda Young as Ida Gibbs.
The show’s production team includes: director Haskell Fitz-Simons, assistant to the director Dennis Poole, scenic designer Roger Bridges, costume designer Vicki Olson, and props mistress Betsy Bates.
Raleigh Little Theatre presents Morning’s at Seven Friday-Saturday, February 6-7, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Feb. 8, at 3 p.m.; Wednesday-Saturday, Feb. 11-14 and 18-21, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Feb. 15 and 22, at 3 p.m. in RLT’s Cantey V. Sutton Theatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina. $19 Friday-Saturday, $17 Thursday/Sunday, and $13 Wednesday, plus $11 student and senior rate for Sunday matinees and $5 Thursday Night Rush (tickets must be purchased the day of performance). Note 1: All performances are wheelchair accessible, and assistive listening devices are available for all performances. Note 2: RLT will provide audio description for those with visual disabilities at the Feb. 15th matinee. 919/821-3111. Raleigh Little Theatre: http://www.raleighlittletheatre.org/seven.htm [inactive 6/04]. Internet Broadway Database (1939-40 Production): http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=13213.