In The Man Who Came to Dinner, celebrated critic and radio personality Sheridan Whiteside slips on the icy doorstep of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, a small-town Ohio family living a totally conventional life. During his six weeks of recovery, Whiteside turns their lives inside-out with his continual demands, long-distance phone calls and parade of eccentric guests. Disruptions to their lives include an Egyptian mummy, penguins, an octopus, love triangles and the delivery of “Roach City” — complete with 10,000 roaches.
It is a show The New York Times called a “meticulous orchestration of comic chaos.” Another review stated, “The hilarious characters and situations are sure to tickle your funny bone while you fall in love with all the eccentricities. Bed rest has never been less restful!”
Greg Rumpf takes on the role of acid-tongued Sheridan Whiteside, while Jennifer Carnahan is his longtime secretary, Maggie Cutler. Emily Funderburk is glamorous stage star Lorraine Sheldon and Sara Meador is Whiteside’s long-suffering nurse, Miss Preen. Keith Williams plays “Banjo,” a character modeled on Harpo Marx.
Robert Baker and Joanne Fuesel play Mr. and Mrs. Stanley, with Michael Roscoe and Valerie Holt as their children, and Julie Mae Hartshorn as Mr. Stanley’s spacey sister.
Others in the cast include Chris Meador and Barbara Davison as the butler and cook, Montario Hill as insect expert Adolph Metz, Jeffrey Robbins as the local editor, Henry Burger as a kindly doctor, Carlton Silvestro as a union organizer, Lizzie Mears as a radio broadcast producer, and Robin Finnacom and Cara Brzozowski as the neighbor ladies.
The production is directed by Rick Thomps
