Doniger Directing PHS Production

SOUTHBURY — Spend an evening full of laughs at the Pomperaug High School auditorium during this weekend’s remaining performances of The Man Who Came To Dinner, performed by Pomperaug High School students.

In this classic American farce the setting is December 1939, and witty journalist Sheridan Whiteside, an egocentric, sharp-tongued celebrity, visits the Stanley family in Mesalia, Ohio. There, he slips on their front doorstep and is diagnosed with a broken hip. He stays to recuperate at the Stanley home and proceeds to turn their home into pandemonium.

Whiteside’s secretary, Maggie, also stays at house. A love connection is made when Maggie meets a handsome local newspaper man, Bert Jefferson.

Whiteside tries to break up the romance, summoning a glamorous actress to steal the affections of Jefferson. Mayhem becomes a daily thing in the Stanley household, with the steady arrival of colorful characters and unusual gifts.

Many of the characters in the play were based on real life celebrities from the 1930s who were known to its authors, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. Included are cameos based on Noel Coward, Albert Einstein, Gertrude Lawrence and Harpo Marx.

The Man Who Came to Dinner, directed by Pomperaug High School drama teacher (and Newtown resident) Paul E. Doniger, will be performed with one intermission of approximately ten minutes. The play runs for about 2½ hours.

Performances conclude this weekend and are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 28 and 29, at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, April 30, at 2:30 pm.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens, payable at the door.

For further information, call 262-3200. Pomperaug High School is on Judd Road, and is easily reached from Exit 16 off I-84 East or West.