By RICK SNIZEK
Editor
For more than a century, New York City's Plaza Hotel has set the standard for luxury, elegance and style.
This weekend, in "Plaza Suite," the thespians of Little Theatre of Fall River Inc. will weave some of the venerable hotel's charm and magic into a trio of vignettes about life and love.
In the opening act of the popular Neil Simon play, set in The Big Apple in the 1960s, businessman Sam Nash (Robert Duquette) rebuffs the attempts of his wife of nearly a quarter century (Linda Monchik) to rekindle their relationship by booking a room at the Plaza Hotel, where they stayed on their wedding night.
"They're all going through different phases of marriage," says Linda Monchik, of Fall River. "They're all committed in some way."
"The first act is bittersweet," she adds. "We need to connect."
Her stage husband, played by Robert Duquette, of Somerset, agrees.
"It's all about relationships, and we're not communicating," Duquette says. And one of his female business associates plays a role in diverting his attention away from his wife.
The central theme of the production is that if you want to reconnect, go to the Plaza Hotel.
In the second act, Deborah Sadler, as Muriel Tate, takes old flame Jessie Kipplinger (Jeff Belanger) up on an offer to visit him in his room at the Plaza. Kipplinger, who has become a famous Hollywood producer since he and Tate broke off their relationship years ago, has one thing on his mind for the night, but she has quite another.
"All I want is to know about Hollywood," Sadler says of her character. "He's an old high school boyfriend, and I haven't seen him in 17 years."
Emotions run high in the third act, with parents Roy and Norma Hubley, played by Roger S. Belanger and Cathy Taitz, involved in a heated disagreement.
Norma Hubley is frustrated that her daughter Mimzey (Jessalyn Sadler) is refusing to come out of the bathroom in order to head downstairs to the ballroom to be married.
Roger S. Belanger, as the even more frustrated father — who is always tallying up how much the whole wedding is costing them — is glad that art does not always imitate life.
"I'm living this whole situation right now," he says. "I just married off one."
Janice MacDonald directs the LTFR production of "Plaza Suite," which has been a hit with audiences for more than 30 years. Mike Nichols once directed the Broadway version, which starred Maureen Stapleton and George C. Scott in the leading roles.
"Plaza Suite" opens at the Margaret L. Jackson Performing Arts Center with a show at 7:30 p.m., and will run through March 16.
Performances on Friday and Saturday will be held at 8 p.m., and the production will close with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for seniors and students; and $5 for kids under 12. For more information, contact LTFR at 508.675.1852 or log on to Little Theatre's Web site at: www.littletheatre.net.