FREDERICKSBURG – (Press Release) UMW Theatre will close its 2018-19 season with The Country Wife by William Wycherley.
Performances will be April 11-13 and April 17-20 at 7:30 p.m., and April 14 and 20 at 2:00 p.m. in Klein Theatre, duPont Hall at the University of Mary Washington. Guests may also attend the Pay-What-You-Can Preview performance on April 10 at 7:30 p.m. The box office opens at 5:30 p.m. and tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
AfterWords, a post-show talkback with the cast, will occur after the matinee performance on April 14. Tickets are $20 for standard admission, $16 for students, senior citizens, alumni, and military.
In this comedy, debauchee Henry Horner claims to be impotent as a scheme to get close to the married women of London. Mrs. Margery Pinchwife, who arrives from the country, falls for Horner and attempts to hide this from her husband. Wycherley explores the hypocrisies of Restoration London through a cast of colorful characters and multiple interwoven relationships.
The Country Wife was first performed by the King’s Company at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Written in 1675, this play was controversial for its witty use of language and sexual innuendos, which caused it to be banned from European stages for 171 years. After this hiatus, this play reemerged in London in 1924 at the Regent Theatre, gaining praise as a sophisticated and clever drama. A few years later in 1931, The Country Wife premiered in America.
The Country Wife is directed by Helen M. Housley, associate professor of theatre. Scenic design is by assistant professor Michael Benson, and costume design is by associate professor Kevin McCluskey. Sound design is by associate professor Julie Hodge, and lighting design is by student designer Melanie Wisner.
For further information, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit FredTix.com.
