HTC's 40th Season Opens With 'Now and Then'

Sean Grennan’s comedy/drama “Now and Then” will inaugurate the Hampton Theatre Company’s 40th season next week, with performances running from October 17 through November 3 at the Quogue Community Hall. The production will be the 133rd in the history of the HTC, which has delivered a wide variety of comedies, dramas and musicals to East End audiences since its founding in 1984.

Originally produced at the Peninsula Players Theatre in Wisconsin in June 2018, “Now and Then” examines the costs of the life choices we make, as well as the people who make them with us. The play opens inside a neighborhood bar in 1981 during last call, as a young bartender and aspiring musician named Jamie is closing for the night. A last-minute customer (The Man) rushes in, offering Jamie and his girlfriend Abby an offer they can’t refuse: a lucrative payday just to share a drink.

As the trio swaps stories, Jamie finds himself reconsidering the decisions he’s made about his musical career and his future with Abby. Eventually, the young couple realize that this older man is unusually invested in their choices — and the reason he gives seems utterly incredible. But when a second, visibly disgruntled stranger (The Woman) arrives, the unbelievable begins to look like it just might be true.

“Now and Then”’ playwright Sean Grennan is an actor (“Rudy,” “The Untouchables”) and writer whose stage works include “A Rock Sails By,” “As Long as We Both Shall Live,” “Beer for Breakfast,” “A Dog’s Life,” “Making God Laugh” and “The Tin Woman.” Grennan’s plays and musicals have been produced hundreds of times around the world, including in China, England, Australia, Germany, Russia, Ireland and Italy. Grennan has been the Playwright in Residence at Centre Stage’s New Play Festival in South Carolina, as well as at Lamb Arts Regional Theatre in Iowa. A longtime resident of Chicago and New York, he and his actress wife, Kathy Senten, moved to Pennsylvania in 2022, after she completed a 13-year run in Broadway’s “Wicked.”

The Hampton Theatre Company production of “Now and Then” includes a cast of four — two of whom are making their HTC debuts: Kate Brady as Abby, Jamie’s girlfriend and presumptive soulmate; and Stephanie L. Moreau as The Woman, who completes the quartet onstage via a mysterious and provocative entrance. Rounding out the cast is Dayne Rasmussen (who made his HTC debut last spring in “Strictly Murder”) as Jamie, who sees his current position as a sidestep to becoming a full-time musician, and John L. Payne (Richard in HTC’s “Time Stands Still” in 2015) as The Man, whose over-the-top offer to Jamie and Abby may or may not be a harbinger of change for the couple.

Directing “Now and Then” is Mary Powers, who returned to the HTC in March after a three-decade hiatus to direct HTC’s critically acclaimed production of “Strictly Murder.” Set design is by Meg Sexton, lighting design is by Sebastian Paczynski, sound design is by Meg Sexton and costumes are by Teresa Lebrun.

Performances of “Now and Then” are on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. from October 17 to November 3. An additional matinee performance will be offered on Saturday, November 2, at 2:30 p.m., prior to the regular 7 p.m. performance. Two “talkbacks” with the cast will be held at the October 25 and November 1 shows. Tickets are $40 ($36 seniors, $25 students and $30 for veterans and Native Americans). Tickets, including subscriptions to all three season productions (including “Boeing Boeing” in March and “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” in May), are available at hamptontheatre.org or by calling 631-653-8955. Quogue Community Hall is at 125 Jessup Avenue in Quogue.