MDR~Theater at The Woodland staged reading
SPRING AT THE WILLOWBROOK INN
By Jonathan Van Dyke
Directed Scott Wojcik
WHEN: Sunday, March 12th, at 7:30pm
WHERE: The Woodland (Parlor) ~ 60 Woodland Rd. Maplewood
TICKETS: $15 (in advance), $20 (at the door) *Senior/Student discounts available*
Purchase your tickets HERE (or http://willowbrook.bpt.me or by calling Brown Paper Tickets 1-800-838-3006)
The cast will include Nathan Darrow (TV: Meechum in Netflix's House of Cards, Preacher, Billions, Gotham) and Andy Kelso (Broadway: Kinky Boots, Mamma Mia, Amazon Video's Good Girls Revolt). Stage directions will be read by Kate Dawson (A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden, Over The Moon-The Broadway Lullaby Project)
The staged reading will be followed by a discussion led by MDR member Robert DuSold (Broadway: Les Miserables, creator Southern Comfort)
About the play
Cooper is a charismatic free spirit from the big city. Joshua is an introverted, hard-working traditionalist from rural Maine. But from their first meeting in 1967 at a motivational conference, their lives are forever entwined no matter the distance between them. Told with humor and grace through a patchwork of encounters and correspondence over four decades, SPRING AT THE WILLOWBROOK INN is a timely, thoughtful play about how, in spite of everything, love will find a way.
About the playwright
Jonathan Van Dyke is a writer, director and producer of theatrical and corporate entertainment. As a dancer, he has appeared in over 75 productions across the country including Disney World, national tours of Oh Calcutta, Bye Bye Birdie (Albert) and You Say Tomato I Say Shut Up (Jeff Kahn). He has directed and choreographed regional productions of Boeing Boeing, The Wiz, West Side Story, Jerry’s Girls, I Love a Piano, and Beehive. Jonathan is the book writer for the 80’s musical Totally Electric which premiered at the Duplex, NYC and has toured regional houses around the country. In 2009 he wrote Holiday Inc., a seasonal show presented at Tampa’s Friday Morning Musicale and The Straz Center for the Performing Arts. Spring at the Willowbrook Inn, written in 2011, was featured at All Out Arts playwriting festival directed by Scott Wojcik (Winner, Outstanding Production Award) and had an industry reading starring Greg Louganis and Sean McDermott. Currently, Jonathan is a producer, director and script writer with Event Show Productions in Tampa, Fl. Events include the closing ceremony of The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the opening ceremony of The International Indian Film Academy Awards, The Rachel Ray Show Season 8 opener, and The Dream Foundation Gala tribute to Barry Manilow. His dance/technology act Tell-A-Vision has appeared on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and seen on Britain’s Got Talent, and the celebrity reality show I Can Do That.
