Wreck the Halls TheatreWorks New Milford Premieres Alan Ayckbourn’s Outrageous Holiday Comedy ‘Season’s Greetings’

NEW MILFORD, CONN. (November 20, 2009) — TheatreWorks New Milford will open SEASON’S GREETINGS by Alan Ayckbourn, the clever comedy about a dysfunctional English Christmas, on Friday, December 4, at 8 p.m. for a four-week run.

In SEASON’S GREETINGS, Belinda and Neville Bunker (Tracy Hurd, Brookfield and Viv Berger, Southbury) are preparing to welcome a host of friends and relatives into their quaint English home for the Holidays. Neville has forgotten to buy his wife a gift. Uncle Harvey sits glued to the TV watching a marathon of action films. Neville’s friend Eddie and his wife are at each others throats. And Dr. Bernard rehearses an unintentionally hysterical puppet show while his wife Phyllis gets sloshed on the cooking wine. It’s all pretty “normal” until Belinda’s sister Rachel invites her friend Clive to the home – and then things really start to go awry.

“Unlike most Holiday productions, SEASON’S GREETINGS doesn’t just focus on the joy this time of year brings. It takes a refreshing look at the petty squabbles and problems that afflict families and relationships in a hilarious and light-hearted way,” said director and set designer Glenn R. Couture of Ansonia. “It’s rare in a Holiday production where an audience can watch and say, ‘Oh, I know these people,’ while at the same time thinking ‘Thank God my family isn’t this crazy.’ So the end result is you simply have to laugh, and I’m pretty confident theatergoers will.”

“The situation starts out pretty conventionally…then quickly disintegrates into ridiculous miscommunications, slapstick drunkenness, domestic arguments, and antic violence,” said producer and TheatreWorks President Richard Pettibone of New Milford. “The full house creates a claustrophobic recipe for fun, frivolity, and festive sexual tension – all with Ayckbourn’s trademark acerbic dialogue and wit.”

The cast also features: Nicholas Pollifrone (Naugatuck), Matt McQuail (Newtown), Ali Bernhardt (Lagrangeville, NY), Janice Connor (Goshen), Phil Cook (Ridgefield), Tom Libonate (Danbury), and Mikki Harkin (New Milford).

The crew also includes assistant director Rob Onorato of Brookfield, technical director Scott Wyshynski of Washington, costume mistress Renee C. Purdy of Watertown, and stage management by Alexis Ortiz of New Milford.

SEASON’S GREETINGS made its world premiere at The Stephen Joseph Theatre In The Round in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, on September 25, 1980. The play made its London debut at the Greenwich Theatre on January 28, 1982. The New York Times said, “SEASON’S GREETINGS… reminds us that Mr. Ayckbourn can rise above efficient craftsmanship to the full height of his artistic ambitions.”

SEASON’S GREETINGS runs December 4,5,6  11,12,13  18,19,20  31 and January 2. Curtain time is 8:00 p.m. Fridays & Saturdays, with 2:00 p.m. Sunday matinees on December 6, 13, and 20. Tickets for all shows are $20 for reserved seating. PLEASE NOTE: 2 SUNDAY MATINEES ON DECEMBER 13 AND 20 ARE ALREADY SOLD OUT.

On New Year’s Eve, December 31, at 8:00 p.m. there will be one gala fundraising performance with hors d’oeuvres and an open bar of wine, beer, and soft drinks. Tickets for this event are $50.

On Thursday, December 3, senior citizens are invited to a free dress rehearsal at 8:00 p.m. Thursday, December 10 at 8:00 p.m. is TheatreWorks’ Pay-What-You-Want night. At this performance, you name the price for your ticket.

On Thursday, December 17, there is an “Office Party Night,” in which groups and organizations of any size are welcome to enjoy a performance as well as hot & cold hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and beverages both pre-show and at intermission. Tickets for this event are $35 each.

Reservations can be made online at WWW.THEATREWORKS.US or by calling the box office at (860) 350-6863.

TheatreWorks is an award-winning, regional theatre company located on 5 Brookside Avenue, just off Route 202 (next to the CVS), in New Milford, Conn.