Play explores family misunderstandings

Runs Oct. 5-6 and 9-12 at Culbreth Theatre

Michael Bailey

Actors (left to right) Christopher Van Cleave, Billy Robison, Daniel Perez and Christine Bovenizer marvel at a wondrous newa invention and the possibilities of progress in the U.Va. drama department’s production of “Misalliance.” Mouse-over to see additional image.

U.Va.’s drama department presents George Bernard Shaw’s “Misalliance” Oct. 5-6 and 9-12 in Culbreth Theatre at 8 p.m. This classic comedy, set in pre-WWI England in 1909, addresses family miscommunication and issues that sometimes remain just below the surface.

Hypatia Tarleton, the middle-class daughter of a self-made businessman, is engaged to Bentley Summerhays, the son of a colonial governor. They are much aware of class mores and act accordingly. But unexpected guests literally drop in and help the families realize that the conventions they take for granted are very shaky and fickle.

Director Richard Warner said that he’s been considering “Misalliance” for a couple of years for several reasons. “It’s very good for a company of actors. It’s a ‘discussion play’ where I can engage my audience in conversation. And we haven’t done a Shaw play here since the mid-’80s,” he said.

Shaw wanted to provoke his audience with this play, Warner said. He wanted the audience to experience the “utopian optimism, vitality and innocence of that age. It’s a remarkable contrast with our century,” Warner said.

Tickets for “Misalliance” are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors and $6 for students. Full-time U.Va. students can use their ARTS$ dollars to purchase tickets; season subscriptions are still available. For more details, call the box office at 924-3376 between 1 and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.