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StageQ is proud to announce its production of Love! Valour!
Compassion! The celebrated drama by Terrance McNally is a touching
portrayal of eight gay men who spend summer holidays together to relax,
exchange some great dialogue and face their mortality over the three
principal weekends of summer: Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor
Day. Their host is choreographer Gregory (Rob Connor), lord of an enormous
three-story country house by a lake in upstate New York.
 Gregory's
blind-from-birth lover, Bobby (Jason Whittle), co-hosts the affair. The
guests include Cristopher Tibbetts as John Jeckyll, a bitter composer from
England who likes to stand apart from the others. Hot-tempered and
brooding, Tibbetts plays not only the heckling Jeckyll but also, in a
sense, Hyde: his own sunny, sweet-natured, terminally ill twin brother,
James, who is as pleasant as John is repulsive.
On all three visits, Jeckyll brings with him his young, handsome
boyfriend, Ramon (Mark Adler Wohlers), a dancer who is obsessed with
pleasure – not commitment! Ramon, the newcomer, does not hold back his
exhibitionist tendencies and reveals himself fully! The ensemble also
features the very-married pair of 14 years, Arthur and Perry (Erik Weinke
and Darrell Budic) and Buzz (Jason Best), a campy, Broadway musical-comedy
aficionado who is also suffering from AIDS. Buzz presents many of the
show's highlights, including a serendipitous relationship.
The play revolves around themes anyone can identify with: loneliness,
jealousy, need, and generosity. McNally explores friendships, love, and
sexuality; and examines the vast questions of life and death and the soul
of human interaction. He does so with humor and insight.
Thomas McClurg (Producer of The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told
and StageQ’s Artistic Director) directs the Tony Award winning play. He
creates a touching record of human life. “The real issues presented in
this play do not depend on sexuality but on character, a common trait of
StageQ productions,” McClurg states. Jennifer Quale and Steve Noll serve
as Assistant Producers. The other production team members are David
Lauritzen for costumes and Dan Jackson for choreography, while Aaron
Clarke and Mark Penner handle lighting and sound design, respectively.
Tony Sheehan is Stage Manager.
Love! Valour! Compassion! plays Thursdays (July 11, 18, 25)
at 7:30pm, Fridays (July 5, 12, 19, 26) at 8pm, and Saturdays (July 6, 13,
20, 27) at 8pm. All performances of Love! Valour! Compassion!
are in the Drury at the Bartell Community Theatre, 113 East Mifflin,
Madison, Wisconsin. Due to content this play is for mature audiences only.
Tickets are $15 for all shows and may be purchased online at
www.StageQ.com or by calling StageQ reservations at (608) 204-0306. |