Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), the professional Equity company in residence at the McAninch Arts Center (MAC), continues its 2022-2023 season with Alan Ayckbourn’s “Season’s Greetings,” directed by Connie Canaday Howard*+. The uproarious British classic will be presented at the MAC Nov. 17 – Dec. 18. There will be a preview performance at 8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17. Press opening is 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. Please note: This play contains adult themes and language.
Friends and family gather at Neville and Belinda’s home to celebrate the holidays. Hilarious mayhem is quickly unleashed due to a tryst under the Christmas tree, an unforgettable puppet show and maybe even a murder. “Season’s Greetings” offers a seriously entertaining look at the anxiety and high jinks of an average family during the holidays. The Guardian notes, “…the action escalates into laugh-aloud ridiculousness…4-Stars.”
On the choice of “Season’s Greetings,” director Canaday Howard says, “We are thrilled to be bringing this show of hilarious familial disfunction to the stage just in time for the holidays. This showcases BTE’s reputation for doing mad-cap comedy exceptionally well…and it offers our audience the chance to forget their cares and enjoy an uproarious good time.”
“Season’s Greetings” premiered in September 1980 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in the Round in Scarborough in a production directed by Ayckbourn himself. This was followed by a run in London that transferred to the West End in March of 1982. The play has remained very popular over the years, having been revived numerous times in both America and in the UK, and toured on multiple occasions. Additionally, the play has been adapted to both radio and television. Speaking on the unique benefits of setting his play at a family gathering, Ayckbourn writes, “Christmas was a gift to a dramatist. You're always looking for a reason to stick a group of people together who can't stand each other…” (The Guardian, Dec. 20, 2007).
In addition to “Season’s Greetings,” prolific British playwright Alan Ayckbourn’s has written over 80 other full-length plays, including “Relatively Speaking” (1968), “Mixed Doubles: An Entertainment on Marriage” (1970), “How the Other Half Loves” (1971), “The Norman Conquests” (1973), “Absurd Person Singular” (1974), “Mr. A’s Amazing Maze Plays” (1989), “Invisible Friends” (1991), “Communicating Doors” (1995), “Comic Potential” (1999), “The Boy Who Fell into a Book” (2000), and the trilogy “Damsels in Distress” (2002). As well as being an accomplished playwright, Ayckbourn also acted as the director of many of his own and other plays. Ayckbourn’s honors include a Laurence Olivier (2009) and a Tony Award (2010) for lifetime achievement.
The cast for “Season’s Greetings” includes Kurt Naebig+* (Neville), Lisa Dawn+ (Belinda), Laura Leonardo Ownby+ (Phyllis), Hugh Callaly* (Harvey), Robert Jordan Bailey+* (Bernard), Tina Shelley (Rachel), Charles Loggins (Eddie), Renata Naomi (Pattie) and Brad Lawrence (Clive).
The design team for “Season’s Greetings” includes Connie Canaday Howard+* (Direction), Sarah Lewis (Scenic Design), Rachel Lambert (Properties Design), Aly Renee Amidei+^ (Costume Design), Garrett Bell (Lighting Design), Christopher Kriz+^ (Sound Design). Violence Director is Neil Massey~. Stage Manager is Daniel Millhouse*. Assistant Stage Manager is Christopher Lindquist. Student Assistant Stage Manager is Kaya Luckey.
Tickets
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble presents Alan Ayckbourn’s “Season’s Greetings” in the Playhouse Theatre of the McAninch Arts Center located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage Nov. 17 through Dec. 18. Press opening is 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. Performances are 8 p.m. Thursday – Saturday; 3 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets are $42. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more. For group sales information email sarther@cod.edu or call 630.942.4525. For more information about BTE’s season, visit www.AtTheMAC.org or call the Box Office 630.942.4000. The Box Office is open Tuesday-Saturday from noon-6 p.m. and three hours prior to performance.
Please note: This play contains adult themes and language.
Related Special Events:
• Pre-show discussion with director and designers: 6:30 – 7:15 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 17.
• Post-show discussion with director, actors and crew: Friday, Nov. 25.
ASL (American Sign Language) Performance: Thursday, Dec. 8, 8 p.m.
ASL interpreters will be located near the stage for patrons who are deaf or hard of hearing, seated in an area of the theater that gives the best sight lines to follow the interpretation and the action on stage. To access reserved seating in view of the interpreters for a signed performance, call the Box Office at 630.942.4000 or 630.858.9692 (TDD), or visit www.AtTheMAC.org for additional information.
COVID-19 Protocols
BTE policies will be kept up-to-date with any issued by the State of Illinois, COD and Actors Equity. Please check www.AtTheMAC.org closer to the date of your performance for COVID Protocols.
Sharing the Spirit of the Season: Nov. 17-Dec. 18
Beginning Nov. 17 MAC Giving Tree is accepting non-perishable food items for the COD Fuel Pantry and People’s Resource Center. The Fuel Pantry is for all students facing food insecurity and in need of assistance. For more information, visit cod.edu/pantry. The People’s Resource Center food pantry serves more than 3,000 families from across DuPage County each month. For more information about the People’s Resource Center visit peoplesrc.org. Also being accepted: books, candles, board games, socks/slippers for Metropolitan Family Services DuPage. For more information about Metropolitan Family Services, visit www.metrofamily.org/community-centers/dupage.
About Buffalo Theatre Ensemble
The mission of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is to provide a forum in which artists, scholars, writers, students and community members explore new ideas and provocative issues through the production of quality theater for the enjoyment of its audiences. Since 1986 BTE has staged more than 120 productions.
The Ensemble members are Aly Renee Amidei, Robert Jordan Bailey*, Amelia Barrett* (Associate Artistic Director), Bryan Burke* (Business Manager), Robyn Coffin, Rebecca Cox, Lisa Dawn, Nick DuFloth, Jon Gantt, Loretta Hauser, Connie Canaday Howard* (Managing Artistic Director), Christopher Kriz^, Kimberly Morris, Michael W. Moon, Kurt Naebig*, Laura Leonardo Ownby, Galen G. Ramsey*, William “Sandy” Smillie, Kelli Walker and Norm Woodel. For more information about BTE, visit www.btechicago.com
*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity; +Denotes member of Buffalo Theatre Ensemble; ^Denotes member of United Scenic Artists; ~Denotes a member of the Society of American Fight Directors
Buffalo Theatre Ensemble is partially supported and funded by generous grants from The DuPage Foundation, Benevity, Choose DuPage, the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, The Norm Woodel Inspiration Fund, The Illinois Arts Council, and a gift from Dr. Thomas R. Scott and the late Shirley Klein Scott of Glen Ellyn through the College of DuPage Foundation and the generous support of the College of DuPage Trustees and the McAninch Arts Center Staff.
About The MAC
McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355. It houses three indoor performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), the outdoor Lakeside Pavilion, plus the Cleve Carney Museum of Art and classrooms for the college’s academic programming. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 100,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season. For more information visit www.AtTheMAC.org.