Emily Tynan and Andrew Gall in Better Strangers. Photo by Rodney Smith/Tempus Fugit Design
Always on the forefront for new drama, The Magnetic Theatre presents the world premiere of Lucia Del Vecchio’s Better Strangers, a drama about two people who meet again 20 years after what was, for one of them, a life-changing conversation. The play opens Saturday, September 16, with low-priced previews September 14 and 15, and continues through Saturday, October 7, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m.
This play, Del Vecchio says, differs from her last, Off the Rails, as much as it possibly could. “I went from a super fast-paced farce with eight characters to one long conversation between two characters. It was a real challenge to sustain an in-depth, contentious conversation for that long but have it be an enjoyable one.”
Asheville-based actress Callan White makes her Magnetic debut as director of the play. “The argument of the play,” she says, “will stimulate the audience to continue the discussion long after the curtain has descended.”
Playing the parts of the novelist/professor and his former student are, respectively, Andrew Gall (John Lambert) and Emily Tynan (Joanna Tilley), who makes her stage debut with this role.
“My hope,” Del Vecchio says, “is that the audience will leave and have discussions with each other over what they think actually happened to these characters in the past, if anyone was really right or really wrong and, most importantly, how the play may affect the way they think about their own personal choices, responsibility and understanding of others.”
The Magnetic Theatre is located at 375 Depot Street in Asheville’s River Arts District. Previews are $12. All other performances are $16, with $10 student rush tickets available 15 minutes before curtain with valid ID. For tickets and information, visit themagnetictheatre.org or, for information only, call 828.239.9250.
