The Hampton Theatre Company's 39th season will touch all the theatrical bases: comedy, romance, mystery, drama, and music. The 2023-2024 slate kicks off Thursday evening at 7 with "Rose and Walsh," a romantic comedy by Neil Simon.
Subsequent programs are Joe Landry's "A Christmas Carol: A Live Radio Play"; "Strictly Murder," a mystery thriller by Brian Clemens, and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
Speaking of "Forum," Roger Moley, the company's president, says, "We decided to cap off our next season with what will be our biggest and most ambitions production ever."
"Rose and Walsh," the last play written by Simon, premiered in Los Angeles in 2003 with a cast that featured Len Cariou, Jane Alexander, Marin Hinkle, and David Aaron Baker.
Of that production, Variety wrote, "Simon successfully married modern theatrics and plot devices with simple narrative in a way he hasn't done since his mid-1980s hot streak . . . he has never been so direct and single-minded as in 'Rose and Walsh.' "
Set in a beachfront house in East Hampton, the play centers on the relationship between Rose, a celebrated writer in financial distress, and her lover, Walsh, a famous writer in his own right, who, though dead for five years, visits her nightly.
After revealing that he intends to discontinue his visits, he proposes a plan to secure her financial future, one that involves Rose's assistant, Arlene; a young writer, Gavin, and a hidden, unfinished manuscript written by Walsh.
The H.T.C. production stars Rosemary Cline as Rose, Andrew Botsford as Walsh, Alaina Manzo as Arlene, and Alexander Massaad as Gavin. George Loizides is the director and Mr. Moley the producer. Set design is by Mr. Loizides, Ricky Bottenus, and Meg Sexton; lighting design by Sebastian Paczynski, sound by Seamus Naughton, and costumes by Teresa Lebrun.
Performances at the Quogue Community Hall will run through Nov. 5 on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8, and Sundays at 2:30, with an additional matinee set for Nov. 4 at 2:30. The performances on Friday, Oct. 27, and Nov. 3 will be followed by conversations with the cast members.
Tickets are $36, $31 for senior citizens, and $20 for students 25 and under. Season subscriptions are also available from the theater's website.
