"George Washington Slept Here" Opens Thursday

Imagine this. . .

As a surprise to you, your spouse purchases a colonial farmhouse in the historic New England area, where, supposedly, George Washington spent a night during the Revolution. Sounds exciting, except for the fact that the home is in dilapidated condition, with holes in the roof, a kitchen without a wall, three inches of dust all over the house, and no water in what is supposed to be the deepest well in the county.

Such is the premise of George Washington Slept Here, written by Broadway playwriting legends Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman, originally produced in 1940. The Evergreen Park Recreation Department Candlelight Theatre will present this comedy classic with three performances in the Performance Hall of the Evergreen Park Senior Center, 9547 S. Homan Avenue.

The production opens on Thursday, June 23 at 7:30pm, with a Friday, June 24 performance at 7:30pm. There is no performance on Saturday evening that weekend, but a 3pm matinee closes the run on Sunday, June 26. This production was originally scheduled for earlier in the month, but was postponed.

Local resident Cathi Diamond is directing the production, with a cast that includes Suzanne Noonan, Glenn Pniewski, Kevin Denny, Jack Gannon, Heather Altena, Tom Jakubczak, Michelle Pniewski, Ella Altena, Andrew Kenny, Krystyna Herrndobler, Suzy Summers, Brianna Mooney, Mary Pniewski, Sophie Altena and Elijah Altena.

"This is a funny play,” said Ms. Diamond. “You’ve got the idealistic, energetic husband who buys this utter mess of a house, and the wisecracking wife who hates it. But then she grows to love it. And all along the way there are some wonderful characters. . .like the slow-witted caretaker Mr. Kimbur and the stuffy rich uncle who add to the mayhem.”

The play was done as a film in 1941 starring comic legend Jack Benny, although changes were made to the characters and to the plot. The story was more or less redone a few years later in the film “Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House” and to modern audiences with “The Money Pit” with Tom Hanks.

Tickets are available in the Recreation Department at the Community Center, 3450 W. 97th Street, and you can use a credit card.

Tickets are also available at the Senior Center on the days of the performance, with the box office opening one hour before showtime (cash or check only at the Senior Center). Adult tickets are $12 and senior/student rate is $10.

The Evergreen Park Youth Department will be on hand, selling concessions to support their fine program.

“We call ourselves ‘The Little Theatre That Could’,” Ms. Diamond continued. “The Village and the Recreation Department have provided a wonderful, intimate black box theatre venue. We can’t do the big musicals. . .the Oak Lawn Park District, the Beverly Theatre Guild and our own EPCHS Theatre Department can handle those wonderfully. . .but, we can provide you with an enjoyable evening with quite a few laughs. And boy, do we need them now.”

More information can be found by calling (708) 229-3373.