Sometimes you can take it with you when kicking off the holidays — that is if you are enjoying a fun evening of theater with friends and family. The Ross Valley Players presents a humorous encounter between a conservative family and a lunatic household in its rendition of You Can’t Take It With You written by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman.
Directed by James Dunn of Larkspur and produced by Robert Wilson of Kentfield, the story is set in the Depression of the 1930s, centering on a household far from normal — a bunch of happy drop outs from the real world of the time. A candy factory is set up in the kitchen, while a ballet dancer is training in the living room, and a writer is pounding away on four manuscripts at a time that is when she isn’t painting. Let’s not forget the iceman who dropped by and never left as well as a Russian grand duchess, who is working as a waitress. Oh, and they are manufacturing fireworks in the basement.
According to Wilson, the household is composed of a collection of family and eccentric hangers-on who have learned to be happy by ignoring the pressures of day-to-day life. “They are early hippies who have dropped out and made a success of it.”
The patriarch of the group is Grandpa Vanderhof, who decided he would choose to be happy and just ignore the working life and the new fangled federal income tax.
The cast includes: Javier Alarcon of Mill Valley, Ross Berger of Ross, Kim Bromley of San Rafael, Stephen Dietz of Petaluma, Robyn Grahn of San Rafael, Isaac Islas of San Rafael, Christina Jacqua of Forest Knolls, Richard Kerrigan of Novato, Frederick Lein of San Rafael, Wood Lockhart of Sausalito, Maureen O’Donoghue of Greenbrae, LeAnne Rumbel of San Francisco, Michael Saberman of Mill Valley, John Starr of San Anselmo, Robyn Wiley of San Rafael, and Bob Wilson of Kentfield.
Premiering Nov. 16th at the Barn Theater in the Marin Art & Garden Center at 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross, performances will be held through Dec. 16 with Thursday shows at 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday shows at 8 p.m.; and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. Cost is $26 for general admission, with senior (62 and above) and youth (18 and under) tickets at $22 and Thursday shows at $20 for everyone. A special preview performance is set for Thursday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m., with tickets at $15 for general admission and $10 for students.
The audience can “talk back” with the director and actors after the Sunday matinee performances on Nov. 25 and Dec. 2. Buzz at the Barn with a finger food reception for playgoers is set for Sat., Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.
For tickets, call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 or go to www.rossvalleyplayers.com.
