TOWNGATE THEATRE PRESENTS “THE DINING ROOM”

WHEELING, W.Va. (February 25, 2008)— Oglebay Institute’s Towngate Theatre continues its 2007-2008 season with “The Dining Room,” which presents a glimpse into the joys, sorrows, love and sadness that accompany family life.

Written by A.R. Gurney, “The Dining Room” will be staged for just two weekends, March 7-9 and March 13-15 at Towngate Theatre, 2118 Market Street, Wheeling.

Set in a single dining room, the play is presented as a series of vignettes that range from the comic to the serious, which, taken together, explore the dynamic relationships of families and create a portrait of a vanishing species- the upper-middle class WASP. The vignettes begin in the early 20th century and cover nearly every decade up until the millennium, illustrating society’s transition from an emphasis on tradition to an emphasis on progress.

The play visits a host of characters as they go about their daily business, all around a dining room table: a father lectures his son on politics; a senile grandmother doesn’t recognize her own sons at Christmas dinner; a daughter returns home when her marriage is in shambles, etc. The scenes overlap and intertwine, and each one takes audiences in a different direction, from tears to giggles, from anger to sympathy.

“The Dining Room” opened on Broadway as a huge success in 1982. Gurney is one of the most prolific and produced playwrights in America, often writing from his own experiences. As a result, his stories are more true-to-life, and audiences often find themselves and people they know in the characters, situations and settings.

Sponsored by Whitesides, Towngate’s production of “The Dining Room” is directed by P.D. Gregg. The talented ensemble of Dee Gregg, Candiss Barnaba, Sarah Brammer, Wayne McCord, Gary Sadler and Joshua Kiley changes roles, personalities and ages to create nearly 50 characters.

Towngate’s curtain is at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8 and 2 p.m. Sunday, March 9. Curtain for next week is 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday March 13, 14 and 15.

Call the Stifel Fine Arts Center at 304.242.7700 to reserve seats. For those buying seats at the door, Towngate’s box office opens one hour before all shows and can be reached at 304.233.4257.

Refreshments are available at Towngate Theatre and parking is curbside or in the nearby Center Wheeling Parking Garage. Located at 2118 Market St., Wheeling, Towngate is easy to find and located just across the street from St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in the historic Centre Market district of Wheeling.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the members of the Institute as well as with financial assistance from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts.