Farce and Meaning Make Perfect Match in "The Matchmaker" at GreenMan Theatre!!


Elmhurst, IL -- When Thornton Wilder's classic farce "The Matchmaker" opens at GreenMan Theatre on April 20, director David Soria anticipates that audiences will find several things to enjoy. These potential pleasing aspects of the show are exactly what interested Soria in directing GreenMan's spring production in the first place. "I guess I'm always drawn to plays with great characters and great writing. Wilder gives his characters such wonderful things to say, lines that are clever and funny," Soria explained.



"The Matchmaker," which is the basis for the musical "Hello, Dolly!," takes place at the turn of the 20th century in Yonkers, New York and deals with widower Horace Vandergelder hiring Dolly Levi to find him a second wife. Dolly has come to the conclusion that she would be the most ideal woman to fill that role, but first she has to accompany Horace to New York City to call on potential match Irene Molloy at her hat shop. Before Horace leaves, he forbids his niece Ermengarde to marry local artist Ambrose Kemper. Horace reluctantly entrusts the care of his store to his clerks Cornelius and Barnaby. Cornelius decides that his life could use some adventure, so he persuades Barnaby to close the store and have a night of fun in New York City. Once there, Cornelius and Barnaby happen to spot Horace, so they hide in Irene's shop. The two clerks pretend they are wealthy men, but Cornelius is smitten with Irene, and she insists that the two men take her and her assistant Minnie out to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Not being able to afford such a meal is bad enough for Cornelius and Barnaby, but when Horace and Dolly arrive at the same restaurant, later followed by Ermengarde and Ambrose, it's anyone's guess who will end up with whom after the laughter dies down. These events would indicate that Wilder's play is a farce, but Soria sees it as more than that.


"The play has the mistaken identity, hiding under tables, overheard conversations, all those touches you would expect in a farce. But Wilder gives his audiences some food for thought, too. With all this mayhem going on, his play acknowledges the foolish side to all of life, and suggests we'd better embrace the contradictions and craziness of life. Near the end of the play, Dolly has a key line where she says that it is important to live a life that is connected, truly connected, to other people, with all their faults and foolishness, rather than being aloof and separate from others. I think Wilder integrates his themes like this into the action of the play beautifully. You never feel like you are being hit over the head with a message, but there are other things to think about in the play, too," he said.


Soria, who also serves as GreenMan Theatre's Artistic Director, is working with a cast that features Jim Bruner (Schaumburg), Christopher Cavanaugh (Chicago), Dana Clouser (Oak Park), Rance Clouser (Oak Park), Vicky Giannini (Chicago), Lynn Sciaraffa Homeier (Elmhurst), Tammy Job (Evanston), Stan Kosek (Villa Park), Harold LeBoyer (Rolling Meadows), Nancy Mesenbrink (Glen Ellyn), Elizabeth Owsley (Streamwood), Mary Pavia (Downers Grove), Mary-Carol Riehs (Elmhurst), Erick Sosa (Franklin Park), and Carl Zeitler (Glen Ellyn).

"The cast of the play is working very hard to bring these characters to life, and we have a great group of actors assembled this time. The challenge always is to go as far as you can with the comic elements of the play, but still keep the reality and believability of the people. We have a cast with a great mix of people. Some of the actors are new to GreenMan, like our Dolly and Vandergelder, but we also have actors who have worked with us before, like Elizabeth, who was in "Pride and Prejudice" and Carl, who's been in several shows, including "Dracula." I think that's always fun for audiences, to see actors they have seen before, in roles that are very different from before," Soria noted.



"The Matchmaker" opens on Friday April 20 and runs for 3 weekends until Sunday May 6.

Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 pm and Sunday matinees begin at 2 pm.

Tickets are $17 for adults and $15 for seniors/students.

For more information or to reserve tickets, call 630-464-2646.

All performances take place at Asbury Hall at the First United Methodist Church at 232 S. York in Elmhurst. Free parking is available.

GreenMan programs are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Art Council, a state agency.


"I hope that our audiences will find the play funny and charming, that it will put a big smile on their faces, and I hope that it even leaves them with a little something to think about after the lights come up at the end," Soria added.