Dan LeFranc’s drama Rancho Viejo, a portrait of how a sinking marriage affects a whole circle of acquaintances, officially opens December 6 at Playwrights Horizons’ Off-Broadway Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).
Directed by three-time Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin, performances began November 11 and are scheduled to continue through December 23.
The nine-member cast features Ruth Aguilar (The Orientation), Obie Award winner Mark Blum (After the Revolution, Gus and Al, Table Settings at Playwrights; Broadway’s The Assembled Parties, The Best Man), Bill Buell (On the Bum, Kin at Playwrights; Broadway’s Cyrano de Bergerac, The History Boys), Ethan Dubin (Shear Madness, regionally in The Whale, John Guare’s His Girl Friday), seven-time Emmy Award nominee Julia Duffy (Broadway’s Once in a Lifetime, Stephanie Vanderkellen on Newhart), Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk; The America Play; The Piano Lesson), Lusia Strus (The Retributionists at Playwrights, Enron, 50 First Dates), Academy Award and Tony Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Mare Winningham (After the Revolution at Playwrights, Georgia, Casa Valentina), and Mark Zeisler (A View From the Bridge, Piece of My Heart, eurydice ), as well as the canine talents of Marti (Annie, The Open House).
“We never meet young Richie and Lonna, whose marriage is on the rocks,” according to production notes. “But miles and miles away, in the affluent southwestern suburb where their parents live, this couple’s separation is disturbing the tranquility of a community they’ve barely met. In Dan LeFranc’s comedy of anxiety and awkward neighbors, the residents of Rancho Viejo drift from one gathering to the next, wrestling life’s grandest themes while fending off existential despair—set against the lustful, yearning strains of a distant bolero.”
The production features scenic design by Dane Laffrey, costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Matt Frey, and sound design by Tony Award winner Leon Rothenberg. Animals have been trained by Tony Award-winning William Berloni Theatrical Animals. The production stage manager is Kyle Gates.
Show times are Tuesday-Thursday at 7 PM, Friday at 8 PM, Saturday at 2 PM and 8 PM, and Sunday at 2 PM and 7:30 PM.
Tickets, priced $49-89, may be purchased online via www.TicketCentral.com and www.Facebook.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200, or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth and Tenth Avenues).
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