In My Wonderful Day, a comedy about the British middle class, Ayckbourn looks at the adult world—with all of its foibles, and failed hopes and dreams—through the eyes of a child. Winnie Barnstairs, a nearly nine-year old Anglo-Caribbean girl from south London, has a school assignment to write about her day. She is spending it with her mother, a house cleaner who works for a minor television celebrity. Instructed to get on with her homework, Winnie observes and records everything happening around her—even as the day turns into an increasingly frenetic domestic farce of marital infidelity, volcanic egos, and comic misunderstandings.
The company includes Alison Cimmet (Tiffany), Kimberly Hébert Gregory (Laverne), Susan Heyward (Winnie), Kevin Isola (Josh), Danielle Skraastad (Paula), and Marc Vietor (Kevin).
Says Artistic Director John Dias, “Alan Ayckbourn is bitingly, yet lovingly, honest about the British middle class, which in this play is seen through the eyes of a watchful, Anglo-Caribbean child. And, he is always hilarious—which is why Nicholas Martin is the perfect director for this production. When I asked Nicky to come to Red Bank to work with us, I was astonished to learn that he had never directed Ayckbourn before. I think this is the perfect coming together of two great artists with enormous craft and exquisite comic sensibilities.”
Alan Ayckbourn is an Olivier, Tony and Molière Award-winning playwright who has written 76 plays. My Wonderful Day (number 73) premiered in 2009, the year of both the 50th anniversary of his first play, The Square Cat, and his 70th birthday. Between 1972 and 2009, he was the Artistic Director of the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough, where the majority of his work has and continues to be premiered. His plays have been translated into 35 languages, won numerous awards nationally and internationally, and have been performed worldwide on stage and television. In 2009, Matthew Warchus' in-the-round production of The Norman Conquests, first seen at the Old Vic, transferred to Broadway, earning a Tony for Best Revival of a Play. In recent years, he has been inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame, received the UK's 2010 Critics' Circle Award for Services to the Arts, and became the first British playwright to receive both Olivier and Tony Special Lifetime Achievement Awards. He was knighted in 1997 for services to the theater.
Nicholas Martin's Broadway credits include Present Laughter with Victor Garber, Butley with Nathan Lane, and Hedda Gabler with Kate Burton. His productions of plays by Christopher Durang include Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them (The Public Theater) and Betty's Summer Vacation (Playwrights Horizons, for which he received an Obie Award); he will direct the world premiere of Durang's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike for McCarter Theatre and Lincoln Center Theater in the fall. He is the former artistic director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival and of Boston's Huntington Theatre Company.
The creative team includes scenic designer Cameron Anderson, costume designer Dane Laffrey, lighting designer Philip Rosenberg, sound designer Mark Bennett, and vocal coach Deborah Hecht. The casting is by MelCap Casting/David Caparelliotis and the production stage manager is Joanne E. McInerney.
Discussions and Accessibility
Before Play: Local “Ayckbourn expert” Michael T. Mooney will speak about Ayckbourn's life and career in Two River's popular Before Play series, a free lecture that takes place in the lobby before every performance in the Rechnitz Theater. Before Play starts 45 minutes prior to each performance and is sponsored by Zager Fuchs, PC.
Michael T. Mooney is founder of New Jersey's 4A's (the Alan Ayckbourn Aficionados of America). He studied with Ayckbourn for five summers, and has staged the American premieres of four of his plays. He is the recipient of the 2008 New Jersey Governor's Award for Arts Education and the 2003 Ann Klein Advocate Award for his work with senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Post-Play Conversations: Discussions hosted by an artistic staff member will take place on the following dates: Wednesdays, May 23 at 7 pm and May 30 at 1pm, and Sunday, May 27 at 3pm.
Accessibility: Two River Theater is fully wheelchair accessible and offers assisted-listening devices and large-print programs at every performance. Audio-described performances are scheduled for Wednesday, May 30 at 1pm and Saturday, June 2 at 8pm. Tickets to this performance are offered at the discounted rate of $15 for patrons needing audio description. An open-captioned performance is scheduled for Saturday, June 2 at 3pm. Tickets to this performance are offered at the discounted rate of $15 for patrons needing open captions. To reserve wheelchair-accessible seating or tickets for a performance listed above, patrons should call 732.345.1400.
