Players Workshop presents Regrets Only
By Tom King July 25, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Theater
Regrets Only
Tue–Sat, July 29–Aug 2, 8pm
Sun, Aug 3, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana 
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
200/150 pesos, reserved seats

The Grandmother of the Bride (Lola Smith)

Subversive wit and riotously funny situations are hallmarks of the work of playwright Paul Rudnick, whose Regrets Only represents a kind of apotheosis of comedy. Set in the dazzling world of high-fashion Manhattan movers and shakers—who soon enough get moved and shaken themselves—this high-gloss comedy hearkens back to the works of playwrights like Oscar Wilde and Noël Coward, providing gilded escape from the ordinary as it ushers us into a world of beautiful socialites and fashionistas.

Regrets Only takes place in the Manhattan penthouse of Tibby and Jack McCullough. A glamorous and influential tastemaker, Tibby faces a potential rupture with her best and dearest friend, famed fashion designer Hank Hadley, when her high-powered lawyer husband Jack takes a contrary stance on a political issue dear to Hank’s soul. The politics of the issue are, of course, less important than Tibby’s struggle to determine just where her true loyalties lie. Further complications ensue with the announcement by Tibby’s daughter Spencer that she’s getting married and wants to do so in a Hank Hadley gown. Hank’s tactics in opposing Jack result in the near-derailment of Spencer’s wedding. You’ve never seen a “strike” quite like the one Hank orchestrates.

Paul Rudnick first aired his unique brand of hilarity on the Broadway stage with 1991’s I Hate Hamlet, which was followed by the hit Jeffrey and a series of other delightful comedies, culminating this year in Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach.

The Mother of the Bride (L to R, Mike Gottlieb, Jill Gottlieb, Tim Johnson).

Tibby and Jack are played by Jill and Michael Gottlieb, who in a short time have become mainstays of the San Miguel stage. Tim Johnson follows up comedic triumphs in Prelude to a Kiss and Impossible Marriage in the role of Hank. Professional LA actor Martin J. Grapengeter returns to the San Miguel theater scene for the first time since childhood as the McCullough’s sassy live-in servant. Crystal Calderoni, a young veteran of many productions in Austin, TX, makes her San Miguel debut as Spencer. Lola Smith, the grande dame of local theater for many years, gives a hilarious rendition of Tibby’s mother Marietta.

The play is stage-managed by Steve Weisberg, produced by Don and Gigi Barbaree and directed by Tom King.

Opening night includes a post-show reception. Tickets may be purchased in the Bibioteca patio, 10:30am–1:30pm and at the theater box office, 4–7pm. All seats are reserved. The last three Players Workshop productions have been sell-outs, so don’t delay!

Last chance to Shimmer
By Larry Menna

Theater
Shimmer
Fri–Sat, July 25–26, 8pm
Sun, July 27, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
150 pesos (100 pesos July 23, 1pm)

San Miguel Stage Company closes Shimmer, by John O’Keefe, this weekend. Shimmer is based on the experiences of the author, who starred in the original production in New York City. Award-winning playwright O’Keefe wrote several plays, the most recent of which was an adaptation of Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself at The New York Public Theater that won the Bay Area Critic’s Award. Shimmer is engrossing, moving, startling and humorous. The play is ultimately about the search for transcendence that we all seek but only sometimes attain.

The launching of Stage Company and the production of Shimmer represent almost two years of planning by co-founders Jeff Garrett and Larry Menna. Garrett had been a professional actor in New York City and Los Angeles for many years, and despite his career as a psychotherapist, he kept active in Actors and Writers, a nonprofit theater company in Woodstock, NY.

Managing director Menna brought a different perspective to the project. A professor of history and media studies at the State University of New York and New York University, he has had extensive experience originating and coordinating international programs and running nonprofit organizations.

Tickets are on sale at Teatro Santa Ana and in the Biblioteca patio.