Theatre Palisades will present ‘Things We Do For Love,’ beginning November 6, at the Pierson Playhouse at 941 Temescal Canyon Rd. The play’s director, Michael Macready, could not wait to tackle the complicated (both emotionally and technically) 1997 Alan Ayckbourn play. ‘Ayckbourn is the British Neil Simon and really better than Simon because there’s a bittersweet bite to it,’ Macready says. ‘It’s a rather ribald comedy,’ he says of this story of an uptight, unmarried woman in her mid-40s who hasn’t dated much and whose world is turned upside down when an old boarding school friend and her fianc’ move into an apartment in the building that the woman owns. The director does not want to reveal too much, but let’s just say that hilarity ensues. ‘There’s a lot of surprises,’ says Macready, who originally saw the play in London a decade ago. This is Macready’s 18th directorial assignment at Pierson Playhouse, where the Theatre Palisades crew is currently in the throes of making the three-level apartment building set work. ‘We’re seeing if it works!’ he says, laughing. ‘The top half of the apartment, Ayckbourn only lets you see their feet, you can’t see their faces, and you’re only hearing them talk. With the height of the theatre, it’s tight. ‘Because of the sets, because of the material, many theater companies abandoned it.’ Set design aside, the challenge of ‘Things,’ Macready says, is ‘getting the style right. This is English comedy, the accents have to be good.’ The key to doing this right will be the actors. ‘If you don’t have the horses to pull it,’ he says, it doesn’t work. But Macready believes he’s assembled a fine cast here. ‘I think we got a good cast for this one,’ Macready says. ‘There’s an actress, Mary Dryden, at Theatre Palisades whom I thought would be great for the lead. I directed her in ‘Angel Street’ about 10 years ago, for which she won an award for the Ingrid Bergman part.’ The play is very contemporary. (‘It could take place today,’ Macready notes), and the director believes attendees will walk away scratching their heads in the positive sense of the phrase. ‘People in love are ridiculous and they do ridiculous things,’ he says. ‘This play affirms how ridiculous humans are in what we do for love.’ ‘Things We Do For Love’ runs through December 13. Tickets: Friday and Sunday are adults, $16, seniors and students, $14. On Saturday: adults, $18, seniors and students, $16. For tickets and information, call 310-454-1970.
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