Merrimack
Rep Presents
East Coast Premiere Of Heartfelt & Humorous
"Four Places"
Joel Drake Johnson's new family drama
"Four Places" will receive its East Coast Premiere
at Merrimack Repertory Theatre from October 14 –
November 7. Charles Towers will direct.
  Called
"funny and heart-wrenching," "Four Places" looks at
a lunch time conversation between two middle-aged siblings and their mother
which turns from routine banter to life-changing revelation. They lead
one another to a place where forgiveness and understanding are tested,
but love is still possible.
The cast of features Carole Monferdini, Kate Udall, John Wojda
and Laura Latreille. Kate Udall and John Wojda
return to Merrimack Rep after previously appearing in "A
Moon of the Misbegotten" and "The Pursuit of
Happiness," respectively. Carole Monferdini, who has appeared
on Broadway in "The Misanthrope" and
"Waltz of the Toreadors," and Elliot Norton
Award-winner Laura Latreille, who has recently appeared at Huntington
Theatre and Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre,
will make their MRT debuts.
Merrimack Rep Artistic Director Charles Towers commented, “I love
Joel Drake Johnson's 'Four Places.' . . . I find his writing to be utterly
honest and true, shot through with a great sense of humor that rises not
out of jokes, but out of our real recognition of family relationships.
So many of us fall into one of the two categories so profoundly rendered
here by Johnson: adult children with aging parents, or older parents with
adult children. Many of us are navigating these relationships from one
side of the fence or the other. Plus, any play that addresses the role
denial plays in family life is a play that also has its eye toward the
larger role denial plays in American politics and the shaping of the American
character.”
Joel Drake Johnson is one of the newest members of Chicago's Victory
Gardens Theater Playwrights Ensemble. The critically acclaimed,
Jeff Award-nominated "Four Places" was produced
by Victory Gardens in the spring of 2008. His earlier works at Victory
Gardens Theater, "Before My Eyes" and
"The End of the Tour," were also Jeff-nominated for
Best New Play. All three plays were directed by Sandy
Shinner, Victory Gardens' Associate Artistic Director. "Four
Places" was subsequently produced in Los Angeles by The Rogue
Machine Theatre where, under the direction of Robin Larsen,
it garnered more critical acclaim.
Special Events . . .
Pay What You Can Night
-- October 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Patrons may purchase tickets in cash at the Box Office between 4:30 -
7:30 p.m and name their ticket price. Following the performance, there
will also be a Director’s Dialogue, where the director and designers
field audience questions and describe how the play was staged.
Lowell Night -- October
16 at 8p.m.
Lowell residents may purchase tickets for $10 at the box office from 5
- 8 p.m. Proper ID is required.
Opening Night -- October
17 at 7 p.m.
Audience members are invited to join Merrimack Rep’s staff and cast
after the show in raising a glass of champagne to celebrate the opening
of the production.
Cookie Matinee -- October
20 at 2 p.m.
Patrons enjoy complimentary cookies and coffee in the lobby before the
show, courtesy of Brew’d Awakening Coffeehaus.
Post Show Forums -- October
21, 28 and November 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Audiences can stay after the performance to learn the inside scoop and
chat with the actors.
For tickets and information, stop by the box office at Liberty
Hall, 50 E. Merrimack Street in Lowell, call 978-654-4678 or visit www.MerrimackRep.org.
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