Description

Do you love love? Do you love plays written about love with characters who love love? Then 'The Real Thing' is your perfect match. Written by Tom Stoppard in his fifth collaboration with American Conservatory Theater's Artistic Director, Carey Perloff, 'The Real Thing' is showing at the A.C.T. Geary Theater from Oct. 27 through Nov. 21. As a Czech-born, British playwright, Stoppard has won countless awards for his previous work on 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead,' 'Night and Day,' 'Jumpers,' 'The Coast of Utopia,' and 'Aracadia.' As master and commander of the English language, despite his Eastern European roots, Stoppard provides a deep, passionate, and hilarious portrayal of modern-day love and marriage. Full of thick, witty dialogue and rife with non-stop quipping, this play delivers a comedic and theatrical punch. 'The Real Thing,' is the story of Henry, a playwright, married to Charlotte, an actor and their acting friends, Annie and Max. When Henry's latest play is staged, life begins to imitate art, with the lines of reality blurred as the four friends begin to interact in surprising new ways. They are ultimately compelled to question their relationships as true love or mere extended vacations. Performed by A.C.T. core actors, Marco Baricelli plays Henry, Rene Augesen is Annie, Stephen Caffrey is Max, and Diana LaMar is Charlotte. As a story easy to relate to, audiences will remember a time in their own lives when the characters' behavior mirrored that of their own. With a mix of classical and early rock 'n' roll music to boot, this play is unlike any other love story.