'Native Gardens' In Quogue

“Native Gardens” by Karen Zacarías is the first play of the Hampton Theatre Company’s 2021-2022 season. It opened October 21 at the Quogue Community Hall and runs through November 7.

“Native Gardens” brings home the often-hysterical truth of the old saying that “you can’t choose your neighbors” in a script where cultures and gardens collide, turning two well-intentioned couples into feuding enemies.

Rising attorney Pablo and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, have just purchased a home next to Frank and Virginia, a well-established D.C. couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending barbecue for Pablo’s colleagues and a delicate disagreement over a long-standing fence line soon spiral into an all-out border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class and privilege.

The play was hailed by Broadway World as “a lighthearted comedy with some heavier threads woven through for just the right amount of heft.” The Chicago Tribune called it “a comedy planted in difficult, painful issues.”

Among the actors appearing in the HTC production of “Native Gardens” are three HTC veterans: Terrance Fiore as Frank; Martha Kelly as Virginia; and Samantha Herrera as Tania. Edwin Alexander Cruz, a newcomer to the HTC stage, has the role of Pablo Del Valle.

George Loizides (HTC’s “Private Lives,” “Don’t Dress for Dinner,” “Lost in Yonkers”) directs. Set design is by Gary Hygom; lighting design by Sebastian Paczynski; sound by Seamus Naughton; and costumes by Teresa Lebrun.

“Native Gardens” runs at the Quogue Community Hall, 125 Jessup Avenue, Quogue, through November 7, with shows on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinee performance will be offered on Saturday, November 6, at 2:30 p.m. A talkback with the cast will be offered following the October 29 performance.

For the safety of all, ticket holders will be required to show photo IDs and either proof of vaccination or documentation of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of the day of the performance they are attending. Face-covering masks will be required at all times while inside the theater. For more information on safety protocols, visit hamptontheatre.org.

Tickets are $36, $31 for seniors, and $20 for students 25 and under at hamptontheatre.org. For additional information, call 631-653-8955.