Hay Fever

Event Details

Set in the English countryside, “Hay Fever” is part farce and part comedy of manners. The Footlight Players will explore the extreme possibilities of human behavior in its production of “Hay Fever,” running Oct. 9-25 at The Footlight Players Theatre.

Meet the Bliss family: a retired actress mother, a novelist father and two adult children for whom all the world, literally, is a stage. Their outrageous antics alternately infuriate and astound their hapless weekend guests, all of whom have been individually invited up for a weekend tête-à-tête. Rousing fights, surprise engagements and fevered declarations of love drive the poor guests from the house, leaving the family happily bickering and playing amongst themselves as this comedy bounces to its inevitable and intoxicating end.

Written one weekend in 1924, “Hay Fever” is one of Noël Coward’s earliest plays. Coward, who was 24 when he wrote the play, is presumed to have modeled the main character of Judith Bliss on American stage actress and silent film star Laurette Taylor, following a particularly memorable weekend spent with her and her playwright husband Hartley Manners on a trip to New York City.

The play is filled with deliciously eccentric characters whose banter is the sheer embodiment of Coward’s comedic style, which resides in the rhythms and melodies of his language, and less in deep emotional undertones.

Shows are at 8 p.m. Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17, 22, 23 and 24 with matinees at 3 p.m. Oct. 11, Oct. 18 and Oct. 25. Tickets are $30 for adults; $27 for seniors/military and $20 for students. Order tickets at the website provided or by calling the box office at the number provided.