Hunger & Thirst Theatre Collective presents

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

By Philip Barry

Featuring

BRITANNIE BOND, MARY C. DAVIS, KELSEY DIDION, JONATHAN HORVATH, JORDAN KAPLAN
JAMES LUSE, PATRICIA LYNN, LARRY PHILLIPS, and NEAL TUCKER

Directed by JACOB TITUS
Stage Manager: JESSICA PECHARSKY
Lighting Designer: YI-CHUNG CHEN
Sound Designer: DANA HAYNES
Dialect Coach: MATTHEW ELLIS MURPHY
Magic Consultant: NATE DENDY
Movement Coordinator: ELI SIBLEY

Theaterlab
357 West 36th Street (between Eighth & Ninth Avenues)
www.hungerandthirsttheatre.com
January 29 – February 15, 2015; Opening Night -01/30/15

Philip Barry’s THE ANIMAL KINGDOM is a play about relationships and integrity. Tom (Jordan Kaplan) has decided to settle down in the life to which he was born. He is to marry the respected Cecelia (Kelsey Didion) much to the pleasure of his estranged father (James Luse) and best friend (Jonathan Horvath). They will reside in the family estate in Connecticut and Tom will write books with great selling ability. Sounds perfect, right? Ah, but in order to do this, Tom must leave behind his long-time lover Daisy (Patricia Lynn) and friends Joe (Neal Tucker) and Franc (Britannie Bond). He must even sacrifice his former-boxer-now-butler (scene-stealer Larry Phillips). And as Tom begins to play by the rules set forth, so begins his struggle with what he truly wants versus what he should do.

The Hunger & Thirst Theatre Collective presents this 1932 work with honor. Keeping with the times in which it was written, conversation is a bit stilted, morals are constricting, gender roles are firmly defined, and the path to success is straight and narrow. The actors do a wonderful job of portraying the complexity of the characters amidst the pull and tug of human instincts. Mary C. Davis rounds out this splendid cast as the proper Connecticut lady. In the end we are all part of THE ANIMAL KINGDOM challenged by what our inner voices demand. How and why we make choices determine the course of our lives.

- Laurie Lawson -