Cape May Stage Presents GOD OF CARNAGE, Now thru 8/3

Cape May Stage presents the 2009 Tony Award winner for Best Play: God of Carnage. Directed by Roy Steinberg (Guiding Light, Days of Our Lives) and starring John Viscardi, Michelle Eugene, Emmy nominee Fiona Hutchison (Guiding Light) and multiple Emmy winner Justin Deas (Guiding Light, Santa Barbara, As the World Turns), God of Carnage opens tonight, June 21 at 8:00pm at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse on Bank and Lafayette Streets. 

 

Frequently touted as a “comedy of manners without the manners,” Reza’s God of Carnage begins politely enough.  When the urban professionals Alan and Annette meet over clafouti and tulips with liberally-minded Michael and Veronica to discuss their sons’ recent schoolyard altercation, a civilized afternoon gradually descends into juvenile silliness.  The fissures in the façade of political correctness begin to show as thin-lipped barbs are volleyed back and forth.  Couples begin as comrades, but as the day progresses into evening, new alliances are formed as those who were once compatriots become adversaries.  In God of Carnage, Reza crafts a hilarious reminder that adults are sometimes no better behaved than their children. 

 

After productions in Zürich, Paris, and London, God of Carnage opened at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway in early 2009.  Starring Jeff Daniels and Hope Davis as Alan and Annette and James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden as Michael and Veronica, Carnage soon became that season’s critical darling, winning the Tony Award for Best Play and a Best Leading Actress Tony for Harden.  Its 16-month run is one of the longest of the 21^st century, and has generated several productions across the country.

 

The cast at Cape May Stage combines four talented and experienced actors.  Justin Deas (Alan), a six-time Emmy Award-winning actor for his roles on Guiding Light, As the World Turns, and Santa Barbara, has an impressive résumé, including Kenekie in the National Tour of Grease and as Hamlet off-Broadway.  John Viscardi (Michael) has played Bobby Gould in David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow at the Workshop Playhouse, as well as principal roles on Law and Order and One Life to Live.  John is joined by his wife, Emmy nominee Fiona Hutchison, as Veronica.  Hutchison, known for her role as Jenna Bradshaw on Guiding Light, has played opposite Stephanie Beacham in The Ideal Husband at The Paper Mill Playhouse and against Tatum O’Neal in A Terrible Beauty at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York.  Michelle Eugene (Annette) has played in some of the area’s most well-respected theatres, including Spring Awakening at the Media Theatre and Amadeus at the Wilma Theatre. 

God of Carnage will run from tonight, June 21 to Friday, August 3, Tuesdays through Sundays at 8 p.m. at the Robert Shackleton Playhouse at 405 Lafayette Street in downtown Cape May.  Tickets are $35 adults, $30 seniors (62+), and $15 students.  Wednesday, June 20 is a Half-Price Preview Night with half-price tickets for all; Sunday, July 8 is Half-Price Senior night, with half price tickets for Seniors 62+. Tuesday, July 3 is a Pay-What-You-Can night: any unsold tickets will be released at the door for as much as you feel comfortable paying.  Following the June 21 opening, all ticket holders are invited to join the opening night after-party at Harry’s Bar and Grille at the Montreal Inn on Beach Drive, with the chance to mingle with the cast and crew.  Call (609) 884-1341 for reservations and information, or visit the theatre’s website at www.capemaystage.org.