By Michelle Hines , University Relations
David Harrell, Jesse Presler (under sheet) and Gretchen Ferris star in "Morticians in Love."
You must remember this: A stiff is still a stiff. ...
Or so it goes in UNCG Theatre’s latest production, “Morticians in Love,” a black comedy about two undertakers who decide to give love with the living a try.
Take a walk on the dark side in this late-night production, staged as part of Theatre 232, a new summer collaboration between UNCG and Triad Stage. “Morticians” runs June 16-July 8 at Triad Stage, 232 S. Elm St., in downtown Greensboro.
“Morticians” will be staged in a 50-seat alternate studio space created in the rehearsal hall at Triad Stage June 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and July 1, 7, and 8 immediately after the evening’s performance of “The Matchmaker,” the Triad Stage mainstage production. Performances will begin at approximately 10:30 p.m.
All tickets are $10 general admission. Call 336-334-4392 for tickets or information, or log on to www.uncg.edu/the.
“Morticians” was written by Christi Stewart-Brown. Morticians Lydia Drury and St. John Homebody inherit competing funeral homes from their respective parents, but when arson burns out Homebody, he asks if he can join Lydia and her androgynous make-up artist and factotum, Limer, at Lydia's Eternal Acres. Before long, Lydia and St. John discover they’ve got a good deal in common, including a limited social life, sensitivity to jokes about morticians and a taste for necrophilia. In their shy, tentative way, these two misfits decide to give love with the living a try, even if it might mean no longer sharing gurneys with comely corpses.
The “Morticians” cast includes: Gretchen Ferris as Lydia, David Harrell as St. John, Paige Berry as Limer, Emily Rieder as Monica and Jesse Presler as Charlie. Scene designer is Janelle Labitzke, costume designer is Debra P. Holmes and lighting designer is Kasendra Bell. All are UNCG theatre students.
Bill Raulerson, a third-year MFA student at UNCG, will direct.
Although UNCG Theatre and Triad Stage, a not-for-profit regional theatre company, have worked closely together since Triad Stage’s inception, Theatre 232 marks their first formal cooperative agreement. The new arrangement will provide professional theatrical experience for the university’s undergraduate and graduate acting students while continuing the Summer Repertory Theatre originally mounted in 1947.
