PlayMakers Repertory Company presents the regional premiere of Deborah Salem Smith’s loving portrait of grief and healing, “Love Alone,” Feb. 26-March 16.
PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Special events associated with the show begin Feb. 17.
After a routine medical procedure goes tragically wrong, a lawsuit ensues and the lives of both the patient’s family and a doctor charged with her care are transformed. Two households navigate uncharted waters of loss, longing and finding the will to move on.
The New York Times called the play “lucid, deeply nuanced and fearless work.” The
Boston Globe said “Love Alone” is “first rate … a gleaming gem.”
PlayMakers performances will be in the Paul Green Theatre in UNC’s Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road. Show times will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays and Saturday, March 8.
For more information and to purchase tickets, call (919) 962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org. Individual ticket prices start at $15. Tickets are also available as part of PlayMakers subscription packages.
Playwright Deborah Salem Smith is the playwright-in-residence at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, R.I., where the award-winning “Love Alone” had its world premiere in 2012. The reviewer for Rhode Island Monthly said “see ‘Love Alone’ with someone you love … even as you are reeling from one moving scene, seconds later you’ll be smiling. I bit back tears with laughter.” The Providence Journal called it “thought-provoking, well-written, and just darn good theater.” Salem Smith has also worked at the Abbey Theatre and Trinity College School of Drama in Dublin, Ireland. Her plays have been produced across the country.
“Love Alone” is directed by Vivienne Benesch, who helmed “Red” and “In the Next Room” for PlayMakers. Benesch is in her tenth season as artistic director of the renowned Chautauqua Theater Company and Conservatory. She also works extensively as a director for The Juilliard School and The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.
In conjunction with “Love Alone,” PlayMakers will host “The Vision Series-Directors in Conversation,” a behind-the-scenes preview with Benesch, accompanied by designers for the play, Feb. 19 at 6:30 p.m. in the Paul Green Theatre. The event is free and open to the public. Participants share coffee and hors d’oeuvres provided by series sponsor Jujube Restaurant, learn about the vision for the show and get a sneak peek at the sets and costumes in progress. Reservations are appreciated. Call PlayMakers’ box office at (919) 962-7529(919) 962-7529 to RSVP.
Other special events will include:
• Feb. 17, 6 p.m.: a discussion with the director and cast at McIntyre’s Books, Fearrington Village, Pittsboro;
• Feb. 26-28, 7:30 p.m.: preview performances;
• Feb. 28, post-show discussion with the director and playwright Deborah Salem Smith;
• March 1, 7:30 p.m.: opening night performance with complimentary gala party afterward;
• March 4: an all-access performance for attendees with special needs, with sign language interpretation and audio description;
• March 5 and 9: free post-show discussions with members of the creative team;
• March 8, 2 p.m.: open captioned performance;
• March 15 and 16: free post-show “Mindplay” discussions sponsored by the North
Carolina Psychoanalytic Society.
UNC-TV is co-producing sponsor for “Love Alone.”
PlayMakers concludes its current season with Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical “Assassins” (April 2-20) and “Hold These Truths” by Jeanne Sakata (April 23-27).
Subscription packages are also available for PlayMakers’ 2014-2015 season. For the lowest prices, new and renewing subscribers can take advantage of discounted rates through March 31.
PlayMakers is based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. The Drama League of New York has named PlayMakers among the “best regional theatre companies in America.”
Coverage note: Media are welcome to cover “The Vision Series” preview with director Vivienne Benesch at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 19. Photography, videography, lights and flashes are not restricted. For assistance, call (919) 962-5359(919) 962-5359.
PlayMakers web site: www.playmakersrep.org
Read and listen to media stories about “Love Alone:”: WUNC’s “The State of Things”, INDY Week, and The Daily Tar Heel.
