Harnett Regional Theatre presents "The Man Who Came To Dinner"
Date and Time
Saturday Feb 12, 2022
7:00 PM - 9:30 PM EST
- Friday, Feb. 11 at 7:00PM
- Saturday, Feb. 12 at 7:00PM
- Sunday, Feb. 13 at 2:00PM
- Friday, Feb. 18 at 7:00PM
- Saturday, Feb. 19 at 7:00PM
- Sunday, Feb. 20 at 2:00PM
Location
Stewart Theater
114 North Wilson Avenue
Dunn, NC 28334
Fees/Admission
Tickets are $15
Description
Mr. and Mrs. Ernest W. Stanley are thrilled when Sheridan Whiteside, a brilliant, witty, and widely beloved radio celebrity, accepts their invitation to dinner on his tour through their little town of Mesalia, Ohio. However, when Whiteside injures himself by slipping on a piece of ice on their doorstep, and is confined to their home for the better part of December, the Stanleys are not so pleased with the change in their household. Brilliant, witty, and highly beloved he may be, but Whiteside has the behavior of a mischievous, sarcastic, entitled princeling, and he does not suffer fools. Demanding control of the entire household -- on top of the $150,000 for which he is suing Mr. Stanley -- in recompense for his injury, Whiteside commandeers the telephone, fills the library with penguins and cockroaches, and invites a band of paroled convicts over for lunch. For his part, Whiteside finds his small-town confinement to be incredibly irritating, and is bewildered and annoyed by his encounters with persistent Dr. Bradley, who has written a book, and Mr. Stanley’s spooky sister Harriet, who bestows a holly branch on him as a token of regard. Bert Jefferson, a personable young reporter with ambitions to be a playwright, seems to be the only local worthy of respect -- but when Whiteside’s secretary Maggie Cutler, upon whom he relies for her sharp intelligence and endless patience, falls in love with Bert and declares that she will leave her job to marry him, Whiteside descends into a panic. He calls on glamorous vamp Lorraine Sheldon, an actress with quite an offstage reputation, to lure Bert away from Maggie, under the guise of pursuing his brilliant play. A brilliantly witty madcap play, which manages to combine the sophistication of great comedic literature, the frenetic energy of the silliest farce, and a genuinely sweet heart into one of the most beloved comedies of the American theatre. Filled with fascinating character roles and winking homage to the intellectual and popular culture of the 1930s, this play is both a great period piece and a timeless classic.