By Mary Mitchell
Arizona Senior Academy’s Play Reading Group will give a special Valentine’s Day reading of Thornton Wilder’s farcical script, The Matchmaker, at the Altura/Academy Village Great Room, 13715 E. Langtry Lane at 1:30 PM on February 14th. The Vail community is invited to bring their Valentine and their laughter and join the Altura/Academy Village residents for an afternoon of zany antics, mistaken identities, unexpected twists and turns in wildly unpredictable situations as they unfold toward an extremely “delicious conclusion.”
Originally written by John Oxenford in 1835 and given the title, “A Day Well Spent,” this play underwent many transformations through the years. Thornton Wilder’s script of the play opened in New York in 1955 and ran for 486 performances. Directed by Tyrone Gutherie, it was immediately declared a smash hit. Theatrical reviews described the new version as “an old fashioned farce, loud, vulgar, slapdash and uproarious … extremely original and funny.”
In 1964 the play incarnated once again as the popular musical, “Hello, Dolly!” and starred Carol Channing as Dolly the meddlesome matchmaker who brokers marriages, as well as offering her talents for fixing varicose veins and giving mandolin lessons. She turns everything and everyone’s life upside down when she decides the next marriage she arranges will be her own. This production ran for nearly three thousand performances and earned ten Tonys.
In 1969 the play spawned the popular movie, “Hello, Dolly!” starring Barbra Streisand. More recently, Bette Midler headlined the cast at the Shubert Theater in New York in a highly acclaimed portrayal of Dolly Levi and after a successful run just closed in January of this year.
The Arizona Senior Academy Play Reading Group’s performance is directed by Mary Mitchell and the resident cast includes Margaret Scott, Michael Chriss, Norm Scott, Dan Angelo, Denny Heath, Nelson Hubbell, Bob McComack, Deon Holt, Doug Barrett, Mary Mitchell, Janet Barrett, Pat Grossman, Vicki Mitchell, Anne Saetren, Robin Gaither and Marti Heath and will be offered free of charge as their ‘Valentine gift’ to this wonderful community.
For further information, please contact the Arizona Senior Academy at 647-0980.
