The Winchester Players

Expecting Isabel
by Lisa Loomer
Directed by Russell R. Greene

a savvy and charming contemporary comedy
about what some people will do to start a family

Friday and Saturday April 18, 19, 25, and 26 at 8:00 p.m.
and Sunday, April 20 at 4:00 p.m.
in Metcalf Hall of
The Winchester Unitarian Church, 478 Main Street
(corner of Mystic Valley Parkway)

Tickets are $15/$12 for students and seniors

Reservations

New England Entertainment Digest – Online

THE CAST:

Miranda Kristin Hughes

Nick Michael Govang

Dominic, Gary, etc. Jon Nuquist

Yolanda, Nurse, etc. Sandy Armstrong

Lila, Therapist, etc. Janet Ferguson

Sal, Richard, etc. Bernie Hutchens

Pat, Adele, etc. Maria Mogavero

Tina, Taylor, etc. Sarada Voss-Wise

Rehearsals

The Play:

In this contemporary comedy, a thirty something New York City couple one day come to the realization that they want to have a baby and the story follows them through an “Alice in Wonderland-like” odyssey of fertility clinics, support groups, modern adoptions and their own family’s reactions and opinions,. The journey is at times hilarious, touching, maddening, painful, and joyful. The main characters are: Miranda (late 30s) a wasp who wants to have a child and questions everything and Nick (40ish) Miranda’s husband who is Italian-American, an artist, and a believer in Mankind and the value of family. An Ensemble of other actors, two men and four women portray all the other characters Nick and Miranda encounter on their journey to potential parenthood, including members of their well-intentioned families. These characters include Nick and Miranda’s mothers, Nick’s father, brother, and sister-in-law, doctors, nurses, a marriage counselor, a pregnant cheerleader, an adoption facilitator, a gay man who wants to adopt a child, a Russian cab driver, and an 18-year-old girl with behavioral issues.

Expecting Isabel by Lisa Loomer had its world premiere at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in October 1998 and had its West Coast premiere at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in July 2000. The Los Angeles Times said of the play, “…Lisa Loomer uses laughter to soothe the ache of infertility…Anyone who scores this many good-sized laughs in her protagonist’s opening remarks to the audience knows what she’s doing…”and The Washington Times hailed it as “…humorous and extremely well researched…a tart tour of the emotional horrors that can come with trying to make a miracle…”.

Director Russ Greene directed the 2007 DASH Award winning Best Production of “Veronica’s Room” in Burlington. A copy of “Expecting Isabel” is on reserve at the Winchester Public Library and scripts are available from Dramatists Play Service, Inc.