Langley Playhouse is bringing Italian sunshine to the stage this month during their winter production of Enchanted April.
Set in 1922, the play follows two unfulfilled London housewives as they rent a villa in Italy for a holiday away from their bleak marriages. While there, they recruit two very different English women to share the cost and the experience.
Enchanted April “will take you away from the rain and gloom of our West Coast winter to the sunshine and promise of an Italian villa,” said director Marko Hohlbein.
“This timeless story takes the audience on a journey from darkness to light and from repression to freedom, promising new discoveries along the way.”
Written by Matthew Barber, this engaging play is based on a novel of the same name by Elizabeth Von Amim, and was first performed in 1925. In the past 90 years, the script has been adapted several times for stage and screen. It was made into a movie in 1935 and again in 1992. In 2003, a Broadway stage production was nominated for a Tony Award, in 2010 it was made into a musical and in 2015 Enchanted April was produced once again on BBC Radio 4.
“Life for many women in 1922 was very restricted,” said Hohlbein.
“Escaping to the Italian Riviera sounded like an impossible dream to a woman faced with an empty marriage and the dreary drudgery of day-to-day life.
“What I’ve learned from this story is that grit above all else is the catalyst to success.
“The women in this play had a willingness to overcome any and all obstacles to achieve a goal.”
The cast features Langley actors Sheila Greentree as Lotty Wilton, Dann Wilhelm as Mellerish Wilton, Margaret Dyck as Rose Arnott and Raymond Hatton as Frederick Arnott.
Enchanted April runs Thursdays to Sundays from Jan. 21 to Feb. 20 at the Langley Playhouse, 4307 200 St.
Show times are 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. on Sundays.
Tickets are $10 for preview night performances on Jan. 21 and 22, and $15 for all other shows.
For reservations, visit www.langleyplayers.com/reservations.html or buy tickets online at www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/133005.
For inquires email reservations@langleyplayers.com or call 604-534-7469.
Patrons should be advised there is some nudity.