Four veterans of past 2nd Act Players shows will be joining three new faces in the cast of the theater’s November production of Joe Simonelli’s “Old Ringers.” The comedy follows the misadventures of four senior women who turn to phone sex to help pay their mounting financial obligations.
Julie Mitre will star as Diane and will be joined by Ryan Hall and the cofounder of 2nd Act Players, John N. Frank. Mr. Frank will play Diane’s boyfriend, Harry the Hat. Also back on the 2nd Act Players’ stage will be Debra Rodkin, who plays Verna, the over-sexed member of the female foursome. New to 2nd Act Players are Sandy Gulliver, Val Gorman and Camille Oswald. Ms. Oswald will play Diane’s daughter; Ms. Gulliver and Ms. Gorman will play Kathy Ann and Rose, friends of Diane and Verna.
Mitchell Ward, who has worked with the 2nd Act Players as stage manager, will direct. And while the play was originally set in New York, Mr. Ward has obtained the playwright’s permission to set the 2nd Act Players’ production in Chicago, modifying the script as needed so it will be closer to home for its Chicago-area audience.
The 2nd Act Players is celebrating its sixth year of bringing stories about key second acts in people’s lives to Chicago-area audiences. The focus is “about how people deal with major second acts in their lives such as divorce, heart disease, war and caring for an elderly parent,” according the 2nd Act Players website.
Performances of “Old Ringers” will take place in Nov. 2-17 in Logan Hall at Northminster Presbyterian Church, 2525 Central Park Ave.