by Kurt Vonnegut
Directed by Kathy Quinn
Produced by special arrangements with Samuel French, Inc.
Show dates Oct. 21, 22, 28, 29, 30* and Nov. 4 and 5, 2016
Evenings at 8 PM – Tickets $15.00
*Matinee at 2 PM – Tickets $12.00
Spotlight Theatre 129 Park Ave Swarthmore, PA 19081

Happy Birthday, Wanda June is a smart, playful and darkly meaningful comedy written by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., whose critically-acclaimed late 60’s classic, Slaughterhouse-Five, was selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time. The play’s protagonist is Harold Ryan, a famous big game hunter and killing enthusiast, who returns home from a long absence, hoping for a reunion with his young wife, Penelope and son Paul. The year is 1969, and America has been transformed by the “make love, not war” culture of the nation’s youth. Harold believes that the country has become weak and that all the true heroes having been replaced by intolerable pacifists. Penelope is now college-educated, and Paul is too sensitive. His romantic rivals include a vacuum cleaner salesman and a hippie doctor.  Worlds collide and as Ryan and his hapless sidekick “Looseleaf” Harper attempt to navigate the new ethos. Various unlikely ghosts from the afterlife appear, including a little girl who was hit by a bus, Harold’s embittered ex-wife, and a vanquished Nazi foe. Vonnegut echoes the ancient tale of Odysseus to make a timely statement about our national passion for violence.

The cast list (in order of appearance):

“Penelope Ryan”…Sandra Lawler

“Looseleaf Harper”…Charles Hoffmann

“Paul Ryan”…Andrew SanFilippo

“Dr. Norbert Woodly”…Stephen Travers

“Herb Shuttle”…Jack Kramer

“Harold Ryan”…John Barker

“Wanda June”…Alyssa Noel Dytko

“Siegfried vo Koningswald”…Joe Tranchitella

“Mildred”…Cindy Starcher