THE WEST SIDE WALTZ
May 31 -June 15, 1996
By Ernest Thompson The West Side Waltz in produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc. Directed by Alice M. Corey Holding out indomitably against advancing age, dwindling finances and failing health, Margaret Mary Elderdice, a widow and former concert pianist, resists the attempts of her violin-playing spinster neighbor, Cara Varnum, to move in with her. While she enjoys playing duets with Cara and gossiping about the other tenants in their upper West Side apartment building, Margaret Mary values her independence above the dubious comforts that the constant presence of the priggish Cara might provide. So Cara is shocked when Margaret Mary engages Robin Bird, a rather kooky young would-be actress, as her paid, live-in companion. Relations between the three are strewn with hilarious pitfalls from the start, with additional comic complications being provided by a malaprop-prone Rumanian building superintendent and an eager young lawyer-suitor whom Robin Bird brings home for dinner. Ultimately things do fall into place, and largely so because of the spirited will of Margaret Mary, who goads the others to rise above their problems, to stake a personal claim on life, and to resist, with all their strength, the infirmities and misfortunes that flesh is heir to. |
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PHOTOS
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CAST
Cara Varnum / Reta Cochrane Serge Barrescu / Arthur O’Keefe Margaret Mary Elderdice / Pauline Thorstenson Robin Bird / Tabatha Webb Glen Dabrinsky / David Clark PRODUCTION STAFF
Director / Alice Corey Assistant Director / Dora May Benedict Stage Managers / Chris Cochrane, Ben Benedict, Sarah Cochrane Set Design / Gil Rodello, Ben Benedict, Bill Campbell Set Construction / Tim Jenrette, Zachary Isley, Ben Benedict, Arthur O’Keefe, Dora May Benedict, Tabatha Webb, Pauline Thorstenson, Alice Corey, Bunny Jamison, Frank Long, Jennifer Corey Set Decoration / Barbara Williams Scenic Artist / Fred Zumwalt Costumes / The Cast Props / Ruth Higdon, Midge Corcoran Sound & Lights / Sarah Turnquist, Jerry Astrella Program / Pat Findorff, Frank Long |
