The Hampton Theatre Company will present Theresa Rebeck’s gritty and gripping contemporary drama, “Mauritius,” at the Quogue Community Hall beginning January 14. The play, which debuted at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2007, is the story of a scrappy young woman, her estranged half sister and three Mamet-esque con artists engaged in a cutthroat battle of wits over a rare stamp collection. “Mauritius” will be presented for three weekends, Thursdays through Sundays, through January 31.
At the center of the drama is Jackie, played in this production by Joanna Howard, who starts the action rolling by bringing her grandfather’s prized stamp collection to a dealer for appraisal. A Westhampton native, Ms. Howard has performed in a singing trio with her talented sisters, Jessica and Siri, and toured the world in “Les Misérables.”
Joining her are two HTC veterans, Christopher Linn as the seedy stamp dealer Philip and Phil Eberhardt as the wealthy, hot-tempered gangster Sterling. Mr. Linn has performed in more than 125 shows across Long Island over a 40-year career, including a number of HTC shows. Mr. Eberhardt appeared most recently with the HTC as Harry Roat Jr. in last season’s “Wait Until Dark.”
Two newcomers to the HTC round out the “Mauritius” cast. New York actress Anna Hemphill plays Jackie’s half sister, Mary, and Long Island actor Eric Clavell plays the young con man, Dennis.
Bob Kaplan directs. For ticket information, visit www.hamptontheatre.org, call OvationTix at 866-811-4111, or call the HTC at 631-653-8955.
on Jan 7, 2010