‘Hay Fever’ Brings Changes To Sherman Playhouse

SHERMAN — There will be some changes made at the Sherman Playhouse when Noel Coward’s comedy Hay Fever opens September 28 for a four-weekend run.

First: Curtain time for all evening performances will be at 8 instead of 8:30. Curtain time for matinees will continue to be at 3. Second: Open seating, instead of the usual assigned seats, will be introduced, although reservations still will be required for all performances.

Hay Fever will run Friday and Saturday nights through October 20, with a Sunday matinee on October 14.

Hay Fever, being directed by Jane Farnol of Kent, is a comedy of manners that begins with the arrival of four guests invited independently by different members of the Bliss family for a weekend at their English country house. The guests are alternately amused, ignored, humiliated and ultimately abandoned to slink away by themselves during a blazing family row.

Noel Coward wrote Hay Fever in three days when he was 24 years old. He explained in his autobiography that the seeds for the comedy came from an unsuccessful weekend he spent in the New York home of Broadway star Laurette Taylor and her family in 1921. The actress denied any resemblance to her family upon seeing the show.

Because of the earlier curtain, the traditional opening night wine and cheese party will begin at 7:15 and resume at intermission. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for students and seniors. For reservations, call the Sherman Playhouse box office, 860-354-3622.