PLAYWRIGHT Thornton Wilder's romantic comedy The Matchmaker has beena global hitsince it premiered in New York in 1955, with its popularity leading to it being translated into many languages and adapted into a musical version, Hello, Dolly!, in 1958 that has also played to packed houses.
So it's not surprising that people who live in and around Newcastle are eagerly looking forward to seeing a production by Brunker Community Theatre that will open on February 18 after having to be postponed twice last year because of COVID-19.
The changes to the dates have led to some original cast members having to leave the show because of things happening in their lives.
Wendy Ratcliffe, for example, took on the role of the title character, Dolly Levi, who, while trying to arrange marital relationships, is also looking for a male who could become her husband because she is now a widow.
And when she is engaged by the male head of a business company, Horace Vandergelder (played by Brian Wark), whose wife died many years earlier, but who decides after many years that he needs to get married again, eventually decides to try to find a woman who could be his new wife, she finds herself attracted to him.
The play is being directed by Pamela Whalan, a Newcastle actress, playwright and director who is renowned globally for her stage adaptations of Jane Austen's novels that also look at changes in male-female relationships.
And she's playing the short and amusing roles of two women who are the servants of demanding people: Vandergelder's housekeeper who is old and deaf, and the cook and companion of a rich maiden lady with her main task being to open the door when visitors arrive.
All the action takes place on one day in the 1880s, with each of the four acts having different settings as the people move around.
The first act is set in Vandergelder's home in the morning, as he prepares to head to work; the second has people walking around a neighbourhood and encountering others who have different views, leading to some dashing to a nearby restaurant; the third has people who later arrive at the restaurant finding some who should be at work; and the fourth is set in the evening at the home of a woman that all the people know and decide to visit so that they can try to learn why unexpected things have been happening during the day. And, of course, there are many surprises.
The large cast includes a mix of well-known actors and some young people who are finding the play to be a good one to help them develop their techniques.
The renowned Brian Wark, for example, sees his character, Horace, as a bit of a grouch who eventually decides that he needs to get married again. And Wendy Ratcliffe points to Dolly as being good at leading people down paths but also at looking after them.
Beth Traynor and Kane Kaiser, who are both in their mid-20s, see it as being good fun. Beth is playing Minnie Fay, a sweet young thing who is an apprentice working in a haberdashery and knows nothing about the big wide world. And Kane is an assistant in Vandergelder's store who is very young and innocent.
The play's other actors, in order of appearance, are: Joe Caelli as Cornelius Hackl, the reliable chief clerk in Vandergelder's store who wants to explore a larger world; David Gubbay as Malachi Stack, a man who has had a life of adventure, with his latest job having him making unexpected pick-ups at Vandergelder's demand; Oliver Pink as Ambrose Kemper, a successful young artist, who is in love with Vandergelder's niece, but is repeatedly told by Vandergelder that business has nothing to do with art; John Dickeson in two roles: the local barber who shaves Vandergelder, and a New York cabbie who has to transport people in a horse and cart; Katie Blaxland as Irene Molloy who owns a New York hat store, with a friend introducing her to Vandergelder as a prospective bride; Shay Gardiner as Flora Van Huysen, a rich woman wanting to help star-crossed lovers; and Stephanie McDonald as Vandergelder's niece who is in love with Ambrose Kemper.
All the action takes place on one day in the 1880s, with each of the four acts having different settings as the people move around.
The Matchmaker has Friday and Saturday 8pm performances at St Stephens Church Hall in Brunker Road, Adamstown, between February 18 and March 12, plus 2pm Sunday matinees on March 6 and 20. Tickets - $25 - can be booked by calling or texting 0412 797 395.
MICRO THEATRE FORCED TO PULL PIN
NEWCASTLE'S renowned Micro Theatre has followed up the cancelled staging of popular 2021 plays in Newcastle Theatre Company's laneway in early February with a notice that the restrictions relating to COVID-19 have forced the company to come to an end.
Festival director Kate Dun said: "Micro Theatre is all about getting up close and personal, and this just isn't possible when you have COVID-19 to contend with, so the pandemic really has impacted us significantly."
"This is a difficult decision, but we are all so proud of what the littlest theatre festival with the biggest heart has achieved in seven years."
Micro Theatre began in 2015 and has collaborated with 29 directors, 34 writers, 124 actors, volunteers and businesses to produce 63 short plays over six festivals, with more than 3000 tickets sold.
