Stockton Civic Theatre

Directed by Dom­inée Muller-Kimball

Two per­for­mances only:

Sun­day, Feb­ru­ary 12 — 2:30 p.m.
Fea­tur­ing Al Muller and Bob­bie Wallinger

Sun­day, Feb­ru­ary 19 — 2:30 p.m.
Fea­tur­ing Kevin and Eliz­a­beth Costello

The Pulitzer Prize-nominated Love Let­ters by A.R. Gur­ney is a charm­ing play detail­ing a 50-year rela­tion­ship between two indi­vid­u­als as told in the cor­re­spon­dence they have with each other through­out their lives. First pro­duced at Connecticut’s Long Wharf The­atre in 1988, it has over the years starred such lumi­nar­ies as: John Ruben­stein, Stockard Chan­ning, Kath­leen Turner, Christo­pher Walken, Swoosie Kurtz, Richard Thomas, Elaine Stritch, Cliff Robert­son, Colleen Dewhurst, Jason Robards, and many others.

The story cen­ters on Andrew Make­peace Ladd III and his friend, Melissa Gard­ner, played by Al Muller and Bob­bie Wallinger on Feb­ru­ary 12, and Kevin and Eliz­a­beth Costello on Feb­ru­ary 19. Though both come from the same upper mid­dle class back­ground, Andrew and Melissa are exact oppo­sites in per­son­al­ity. Andrew is a staid, no-nonsense, play-by-the-rules kind of guy, even at the early age of seven, while Melissa is impul­sive, impetu­ous and lively. Through their let­ters to each other, begin­ning with sim­ple birth­day thank-you notes and sum­mer camp post­cards and pro­gress­ing to their adult lives, we learn more and more about the sub­tle dif­fer­ences in their upbring­ings, per­son­al­i­ties and per­spec­tives on life.

Yet despite their dif­fer­ences, the two are drawn to each other, keep­ing up a cor­re­spon­dence that lasts over 50 years. Andrew grad­u­ates from Yale, mar­ries, and becomes a lawyer and sen­a­tor. Melissa is an artist who also mar­ries and divorces, has a drink­ing prob­lem, is estranged from her fam­ily, and seems always in search of her­self. Over the years, their let­ters to each other become a source of con­ster­na­tion, inspi­ra­tion, com­fort, and love. These two oppo­sites seem to com­plete each other.

This spe­cial pre­sen­ta­tion of Love Let­ters is a fundraiser for Stock­ton Civic The­atre. Tick­ets are $20. Call the Box Office Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at (209) 473‑2424, or order online.

Begin­ning Wednes­day, Jan­u­ary 11, and run­ning through Sun­day, Feb­ru­ary 5, 2012,  Stock­ton Civic The­atre will present DEARLY BELOVED,  a hilar­i­ous com­edy writ­ten by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten.

The story is about the Futrelle sis­ters in Fayro, Texas, who come together for a fam­ily wed­ding.  Dys­func­tional, to say the least, this wed­ding has a “Gone With the Wind” theme, and every­thing that can go wrong does.  This is the first of a tril­ogy about the Futrelle fam­ily.  Great char­ac­ters, funny sit­u­a­tions, and a heart­warm­ing con­clu­sion, make for a fun evening in the theatre.

Liz Kast­ner Garvin and Jen­nifer Nel­son Burgher per­form the roles of Twink Futrelle and Frankie Futrelle Dub­berly, with new­comer Bon­nie de Chant play­ing the flam­boy­ant Honey Raye Futrelle.  Wiley Hicks is the hap­less husband-to-be. Vet­eran actress Judy Caruso Williamson por­trays Miss Geneva Mus­grave, the can­tan­ker­ous wed­ding coor­di­na­tor who runs the local flo­ral shop/bus depot.

Other cast mem­bers include Carol Barry as Tina Jo/Gina Jo Dub­berly, Richard Garvin as Dub Dub­berly, Kari Nel­son as Nelda Light­foot, Matt Sac­ulla as Justin Waverly, Sean Bocardo as John Cur­tis Bunt­ner, and Sheri Gar­land as Patsy Price. 

With SCT’s Artis­tic Direc­tor Jim Cole­man at the director’s helm, other staff includes Joan Topp as assis­tant direc­tor, Terry Smith as set and light­ing designer, Elsa Ful­ton as cos­tumes designer, and Putsy Lew Hong as stage manager. 

DEARLY BELOVED fea­tures a $15 per seat pre­view on Wednes­day, Jan­u­ary 11, at 7:30 p.m.  A recep­tion for open­ing night patrons catered by Angelina’s will be held on Fri­day, Jan­u­ary 13, at 6:30 p.m.  Per­for­mances con­tinue through Sun­day, Feb­ru­ary 5, on Thurs­days, Fri­days and Sat­ur­days at 7:30 p.m., and Sun­days at 2:30 p.m.

Tick­ets are $25 for adults, $21 for seniors, and $15 for stu­dents and chil­dren 12 and under.  The show is rated PG.

The the­atre is located at 2312 Rose Marie Lane, Stock­ton.  For tick­ets call the SCT Box Office Tues­day through Fri­day, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at (209) 473‑2424, or go online at sctlivetheatre.com.

The mis­sion of Stock­ton Civic The­atre is to offer afford­able, qual­ity pro­duc­tions, adult and youth edu­ca­tion, col­lab­o­ra­tive out­reach pro­grams and pro­mote involve­ment with our diverse community.

Stock­ton Civic The­atre Artis­tic Direc­tor Jim Cole­man announced his cast for “Dearly Beloved,” a hilar­i­ous com­edy slated to start off the new year in Jan­u­ary.  Writ­ten by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope, and Jamie Wooten, the story is about the Futrelle sis­ters in Fayro, Texas, who come together for a fam­ily wed­ding.  Dys­func­tional, to say the least, this wed­ding has a “Gone With the Wind” theme, and every­thing that can go wrong does.

Liz Kast­ner Garvin and Jen­nifer Nel­son Burgher are cast as Twink Futrelle and Frankie Futrelle Dub­berly, with new­comer Bon­nie de Chant play­ing the flam­boy­ant Honey Raye Futrelle.  Wiley Hicks is cast as the hap­less husband-to-be. Vet­eran actress Judy Caruso Williamson will por­tray Miss Geneva Mus­grave, the can­tan­ker­ous wed­ding coor­di­na­tor who runs the local flo­ral shop/bus depot.

Other cast mem­bers include Carol Barry as Tina Jo/Gina Jo Dub­berly, Richard Garvin as Dub Dub­berly, Kari Nel­son as Nelda Light­foot, Matt Sac­ulla as Justin Waverly, Sean Bocardo as John Cur­tis Bunt­ner, and Sheri Gar­land as Patsy Price. 

With Cole­man at the director’s helm, other staff includes Joan Topp as assis­tant direc­tor, Terry Smith as set and light­ing designer, Elsa Ful­ton as cos­tumes designer, and Putsy Lew Hong as stage manager.

“Dearly Beloved” will run start­ing Wednes­day, Jan­u­ary 11, con­clud­ing on Sun­day, Feb­ru­ary 5.  For more infor­ma­tion, call the Box Office Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at (209) 473‑2424, or go online at sctlivetheatre.com.