PHILADELPHIA, PA: The Walnut Street Theatre opens its 2019-20 Independence Studio on 3 season with Steve Martin’s new comedy, METEOR SHOWER. Directed by Debi Marcucci, the production begins previews on September 10, opens September 19, and has already been extended through October 27.
Get ready for the unexpected when Norm and his wife Corky invite another couple to their backyard to watch a once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower in the night sky. As the stars come out and the conversation gets rolling, cocktails flow, tempers flare, and sparks fly—literally. Steve Martin’s surprising new comedy takes an offbeat look at the comic anxiety lurking just beneath the surface of modern marriage.
METEOR SHOWER premiered on Broadway at the Booth Theatre in 2017 with a cast led by Emmy Award winners Amy Schumer and Keegan-Michael Key. The play was written by legendary comedian, actor, filmmaker, musician, and playwright Steve Martin. The show was exceedingly popular, breaking the theatre’s record for highest advance earnings in the house’s 104-year history and held an average house capacity of 99.5% throughout its run. The Walnut’s production marks the first regional theatre production of the show since its Broadway run ended in 2018.
Debi Marcucci returns to The Walnut to direct METEOR SHOWER. For WST, Marcucci directed last season’s Oleanna, the hit musical Always… Patsy Cline, as well as Tell Me on a Sunday, Souvenir, Lobby Hero, Mr. Baily’s Minder and The Ugly One, all in Walnut’s Studio on 3. Her credits also include No Way To Treat A Lady at the Alpine Theatre Project and assistant director for Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story and Good People at The Walnut. Formerly a resident of South Philadelphia, Marcucci held the position of stage manager for the Walnut’s Mainstage for 18 years during her career.
The show’s lead spouses, Corky and Norm, will be played by Walnut veterans – and real-life married couple – Susan Riley Stevens and Greg Wood. Stevens was most recently seen in last season’s Mainstage production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Her other Walnut credits include A Streetcar Named Desire, Fallen Angels, God of Carnage, The Gift, Harvey, and The Prescott Method. Wood has appeared in The Walnut’s Noises Off, The Humans, Private Lives, Other Desert Cities, God of Carnage, The King & I, and Amadeus. He also appeared alongside Stevens in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.
Jake Blouch and Jessica Bedford return to The Walnut to play Corky and Norm’s quirky guests, Gerald and Laura. Blouch most recently appeared on The Walnut stage as John Worthington in The Importance of Being Earnest and has also been seen performing in regional productions of Something Wicked This Way Comes, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and See What I Wanna See, for which he received a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical. Bedford starred in The Walnut’s And Then There Were None and The Prescott Method. She also teaches at The Walnut as part of its theatre school faculty and has taught at Montgomery County Community College, Villanova University, Temple University, University of the Arts, DeSales University, and for the Performing Arts Project at Wake Forest University.
Creating Corky and Norm’s Southern California home will be a production team led by Scenic Designer Roman Tatarowicz (The Curious Incident…Night-Time,The Humans, Oleanna). Tatarowicz, an OB/GYN by trade, has designed a unique alley stage, with seats set on both sides of Corky and Norm’s backyard. Actors will perform between the two sets of theatregoers as the action moves throughout the set, making the audience just as much a part of the starlit dinner party as the rest of the cast.
Tatarowicz will be joined by Costume Designer and Assistant Costume Shop Manager Rebecca Dwight. Dwight’s previous work at The Walnut includes Civil War Voices, Oleanna, and It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play. Lighting Designer Jimmy Lawlor (Oleanna) and Sound Designer Damien Figueras (It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, Oleanna) round out the design team.
The 2019-20 media sponsors for the Independence Studio on 3 season are Philly Weekly and WHYY. Tickets are $37 - $42 and are now available at 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787. Tickets are also available at walnutstreettheatre.org or Ticketmaster.com.
JUST THE FACTS:
WHAT: METEOR SHOWER
Written by Steve Martin
WHEN: September 10 – October 27
Press opening: Thursday, September 19 at 7:30pm
WHERE: Walnut Street Theatre, Independence Studio on 3
825 Walnut St., Philadelphia
WHO: Director: DEBI MARCUCCI
Set Design: ROMAN TATAROWICZ
Costume Design: REBECCA DWIGHT
Lighting Design: JIMMY LAWLOR
Sound Design: DAMIEN FIGUERAS
Stage Manager: KELLY SCHWARTZ*
CAST: Corky……………………………………. SUSAN RILEY STEVENS*
Norm.................................................... GREG WOOD*
Gerald.................................................. JAKE BLOUCH*
Laura.................................................... JESSICA BEDFORD*
* Denotes membership in Actors' Equity Association, the professional union of Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
TICKETS: $37 - $42
CURTAIN: Tuesday – Sunday evenings at 7:30pm, Matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:30pm; Thursday matinee on October 3rd and October 10th at 2:30pm.
PHONE: Tickets/Info 215-574-3550 or 800-982-2787
WEBSITE: www.walnutstreettheatre.org or Ticketmaster
