Deep Dish Theater Company presents

"The Rivals"

CHAPEL HILL -- Deep Dish Theater Company’s sixth season continues with one of Western drama’s comic masterpieces, "The Rivals" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. It will be directed by Charlie Steak and performed Thursday, February 15 to Saturday, March 10.

First produced in 1775, "The Rivals" features the romantic misadventures of Lydia Languish, Captain Jack Absolute, and the immortal Mrs. Malaprop, whose habit of choosing the perfectly wrong word made her a household name, and the word “malaprop” a part of the Oxford English Dictionary.

The plot centers on the wealthy Lydia Languish (Anne-Caitlin Donohue) and her suitor, Jack Absolute (Josh Long). Knowing of Lydia’s determination to marry a poor man for the sake of true love, the wealthy Jack disguises himself as a poor soldier to woo her. Complications ensue when Lydia’s Aunt, Mrs. Malaprop (Nicole Farmer) and Jack’s father, Sir Anthony (Rick Lonon) arrange for Lydia to marry the real Jack, and the young lovers find themselves amidst a host of rivals, both real and imaginary.

The cast of "The Rivals" also includes Matt Patterson, Curt Kirkhoff, Angela Ray, Nik Priest, Robert Bloomer, Chris Brown, Page Purgar, and Lucius Robinson. Kim DeCoste is designing the set, Sue Sweezy is designing costumes, Steve Tell is designing lights, Devra Thomas is designing props, and Nick Graetz is designing sound. The production’s stage manager is Jennifer Bauer.

The play became a favorite of the Royal Family, as well as George Washington’s favorite play. Sheridan followed up with other hits, including the masterpiece The School for Scandal. Sheridan wrote "The Rivals" when he was just 22, taking many plot points from his own life, including a near-fatal duel and an elopement.

Though now considered a classic, the play was so poorly received on its opening night in 1775 that he rewrote, significantly shortened, recast it, and managed to have a second performance ready in just 11 days. It played to raves, and is one of few 18th Century plays still performed regularly.

"The Rivals" will be directed by Charlie Steak, who most recently directed Twelfth Night for UNC’s Professional Actor Training Program. He has served as an assistant director at PlayMakers Repertory Company for productions of Not About Heroes, Cyrano de Bergerac and The Front Page. As an actor, he has appeared at PlayMakers, South Coast Repertory, The Odyssey, and L.A. Stage Company.

“Although "The Rivals" was written in 1775, human nature has not changed in the intervening 232 years,” said Steak. “It’s is filled with people in love, people thinking they are in love, people spoiling for a fight, and some of them indulging in a lot of pretension. Add in just a little confusion over mistaken identity and you have a play that’s as funny today as the day it was written.”

Audience discussions will follow Sunday performances on February 18 (featuring a conversation with the production's design team) and February 25. The Deep Dish Book Selection for this production is "Carry On, Jeeves," by P.G. Wodehouse, a collection of short stories featuring the unflappable servant Jeeves and his hapless employer, Bertie Wooster. A discussion of the book, free and open to the public, will be led by Evelyn Daniel prior to the performance on Thursday, March 8.

Deep Dish is located in Chapel Hill's University Mall, located on Estes Drive and US 15-501. Thursday through Saturday performances begin at 8 p.m., with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. There will also be a special early show at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 7. For reservations and information, call 968-1515. Tickets for all performances are $16, $14 for seniors, and $12 for students. Thursday, February 22 is "Cheap Dish Night," when all tickets will be $7; no advance reservations will be taken for that performance.

For more information, call 968-1515 or visit the Deep Dish website at www.deepdishtheater.org.