Murderers by Jeffery Hatcher
When we met in Storrs on November 14, the members present were called on after lunch to decide, among other things, the nature of the Spring programs. Chairing the meeting, I was able to suggest two musical programs and one theatrical presentation, a play called Murderers, by Jeffrey Hatcher, which takes place in a Florida retirement community called Riddle Key. This third offering captured the favor of the gathering, captivated by its piquancy, and the vote for it was overwhelming.
The play has already had its East Coast premiere in an October production of the Philadelphia Theatre Company, where it received favorable reviews for a rousing performance. One critic wrote, "Murderers is a delight - a very funny comedy with some biting satire and terrific storytelling. . Hatcher has a lot of fun mocking the American Way of Waiting for Death, and his three protagonists. play with the stereotypes of the elderly in unexpected ways." Each of the protagonists presents a separate tale, one of an administrator of the retirement center, one of a wife killer, and one of a wife who takes umbrage at the sudden appearance in the community of her husband's old flame.
Jeffrey Hatcher is a prolific playwright who has also written for television. His plays, produced on Broadway, off-Broadway and in regional theaters across the country and abroad, include Three Viewings, Scotland Road, Neddy, Korczak's Children, A Picasso, Mercy Of A Storm and, with collaborators, Work Song and Lucky Duck. He has won grants and awards from the NEA, TCG, the Lila-Wallace Fund, and A Rosenthal New Play Prize, a Frankel Award, a Barrymore Award and others.
Murderers is to be staged, starting on April 13, at TheaterWorks, a professional theater company centered in a building that it owns, an Art Deco structure at 233 Pearl Street in downtown Hartford. Our date is for a Sunday matinee on May 6, at 2:30.
Parts of the glowing reviews we have consulted naturally focus on the performers in Philadelphia, and the question was asked, whether the same performers would appear at TheaterWorks. Such duplication is not customary: each theater company mounts its own production in its own way, with a vision built up from the insights and necessities of director, scene designer, casting director and the various talents supplied by the company. It is quite certain that one of the Philadelphia actors is already booked for a New York appearance beginning in March, and the other actors and theater people in Philadelphia no doubt have commitments of their own.
It will be interesting for us, then, to experience Hartford's own unique performance of this original work in the company's intimately proportioned, 200 seat auditorium, in its historic building.
Nicholas Welchman
*EARLY NOTIFICATION NEEDED
I have agreed with the business manager of the theater that she will hold 25 tickets for our group for the May 6 matinee performance of Murderers at $25 each. This arrangement is to be confirmed by telephone on March 6. It will be necessary for me to provide a figure representing the anticipated size of our group. I therefore request that you notify me before March 6 if you have a desire or expectation to attend. The already discounted price of seats may be further modified according to our actual numbers. It will remain possible for us to respond to any change of plan on your part until April 6, when we shall have to make payment.
Please notify me by email at
welchman@rcn.com. Nicholas Welchman
