Doris (Nicole Galyean) and George (Rich Garrett) have their once-yearly romantic rendezvous interrupted by labor pains in "Same Time, Next Year" playing at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia April 12-15.
The cast of “Same Time, Next Year” believe many people may come see their play because they fondly remember the movie of the same title.
And they hope their version of it reminds them of the iconic love story, while standing out on its own merit.
“I think a lot of people know this story,” said director Jeff Kingsbury. “A lot of people have seen the movie. But I don’t think a lot of people have seen it on the stage.”
Written by Bernard Slade, “Same Time, Next Year” is perhaps best known for the movie of the same title starring Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn that premiered in 1978. It tells the story of Doris (portrayed by Nicole Galyean) and George (portrayed by Rich Garrett), who meet by accident at a vacation cabin in 1951 and begin an affair that lasts 25 years. Each year, on the same day, the two meet up at the same cabin and we get a glimpse not only into the evolving lives of the two characters and their families but the historical significance of the times they’re living through.
“The dynamic of the show is interesting,” Kingsbury said. “While they’re having an affair it’s really a love story of these two people growing up together. Not only do we see them grow in their relationship but we’re dealing with the historical periods they’re going through.”
The play will show just one weekend, April 12-15, at the Evergreen Playhouse in Centralia and is a production of TOAD. The TOAD theater company was started in Nevada more than 20 years ago by Rich and Kris Garrett. Today, they reside in Centralia and are currently producing after-school musical theater experiences at McLane Elementary in Olympia, Olympia Regional Learning Academy, Hansen Elementary in Olympia, Eatonville Elementary and Visitation STEM Academy in Tacoma. Kris Garrett said they are working to try to bring their four-week after school experiences to Lewis County schools.
“We’re currently producing six shows at five schools and my hope is to double that by next year,” she said.
While “Same Time, Next Year” is an adult show with adult actors, Rich Garrett said occasional productions like this are still very much in the spirit of TOAD. He recalled that often parents of theater program students would ask to be involved in a show, either on stage or behind the scenes.
“Adults like to play, too, so we occasionally have a few projects like this that give artists an outlet, but also let us work with the artists we’d like to work with,” Rich Garrett said.
The play had long been a favorite of the Garretts and when they mentioned wanting to produce it to friend and colleague Kingsbury, he said he was eager to offer his directing talents to the project. Kingsbury directed Rich Garrett and Galyean as the dysfunctionally fun George & Charlotte Hay in “Moon Over Buffalo” at the Evergreen Playhouse in 2017.
“They said ‘we want to do this’ and I said ‘I’d kill to direct that’ and they said ‘who would we have as the actors?’ and I said ‘Rich and Nicole, of course,’” Kingsbury said.
One of the burdens as well as joys of “Same Time, Next Year” is that it is a cast of only two. Both roles are demanding in terms of amount of lines and creating scenes that feel believable. Both Rich Garrett and Galyean said they were excited to work together on another project and said their previous acting experiences together and with Kingsbury helped them really mold their characters.
“Really, it was solely based on dynamics and trust,” Galyean said. “When I knew Rich was in it, it was a sigh of relief. I just felt very confident and excited to be part of it.”
“This is 100 percent trust factor. She trusts me that I’m going to be her partner on stage and she is an actress I can trust implicitly,” Rich Garrett said. “Not only that but to work with a director I can trust. No matter what he asks me to do, I know it’s the right choice.”
For Kingsbury, the joy of working with a very small cast is being able to really delve into the minds of the characters as well as each small nuance of each scene.
“With a larger cast you just don’t have that one-on-one time to delve into ‘what is the dynamic of that relationship?’” Kingsbury said. “In this process, I get to ask questions like ‘why do you think he is asking her that question?’ and we get to delve into it.”
