Previews of Coming Attractions

March 4-6 & 11-13, 2005

"You Can't Take It With You"

By George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart

Directed By Barry D. Haulsee

The dull, dreary days of winter will be brightened considerably in January, as The Little Theatre of Danville presents the Kaufman/Hart masterpiece of comedy, You Can't Take It With You.

To be presented March 4-6 and 11-13 at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts & History, this classic of American theatre is part of Little Theatre’s “Salute to the 1940’s” slate of performances this season.

You Can't Take It With You opened in New York in December of 1936 to instant critical and popular acclaim. This depiction of a delightfully eccentric family, the third collaboration by playwrights George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, proved to be their most successful and and longest-running work. Awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1936, the comedy went on to run 837 performances on Broadway. Kaufman and Hart sold the film rights to Columbia Pictures for a record-setting amount, and the 1938 film won an Academy Award for best picture. Perennially appealing to audiences, You Can't Take It with You has become an American classic, regularly produced by high schools, colleges, and community theaters around the country. Successful Broadway revivals in 1965 and 1983 also attest to the play's timeless appeal.

You Can't Take It With You relates the humorous encounter between a conservative family and the crazy household of Grandpa Martin Vanderhof. Grandpa's family of idiosyncratic individualists amuse with their energetic physical antics and inspire with their wholehearted pursuit of happiness. Kaufman and Hart fill the stage with chaotic activity from beginning to end. Critics have admired the witty one-liners, the visual theatrical techniques, and the balanced construction of the play's three acts. Although You Can't Take It With You is undeniably escapist theater which prompts immediate enjoyment rather than complex analysis, it has clearly influenced American comedy. The formula originated by Kaufman and Hart—a loveable family getting into scrapes and overcoming obstacles— has been adopted as a format by most of today's television situation comedies.

About the director........

Barry D. Haulsee  holds a B.F.A. degree in theatre from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond and has also apprenticed at the College of William and Mary, and Theatre Virginia. He currently serves on the board of directors for The Little Theatre of Danville. He has directed numerous productions, including Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, On Golden Pond, Deathtrap, Moon Over Buffalo, Don’t Dress For Dinner, Graceland, and Driving Miss Daisy. He was last seen on stage as "Dr. McMerlin" in London Suite.