Two things: One, this will be the first major production on Marathon Community Theater’s stage since the start of the pandemic. Two, there’s a real live dog “actor” among the cast of “Suite Surrender,” which opens Thursday, April 22 in Marathon.
“Yes, he’s a natural, an excellent actor, does a wonderful job,” said director Mike Chaplin heaping praise on Coco, a dog who belongs to Joanne and Jimmy Zimmerman. In the show, he plays Mr. Boodles.
It’s a bold choice for what is sure to be a very funny farce.
“Suite Surrender,” written by Michael McKeever, tells the story of two divas mistakenly assigned the same suite. The action takes place in 1942, and the two Hollywood stars are in a Palm Beach hotel for a performance that doubles as a war fund drive.
“It’s a laugh-out-loud farce, which is just what Marathon needs right now,” said Joanne Zimmerman, current president of MCT.
The divas are played by Marathon’s Terry Israel and Charla Garrison. They are joined on stage by Dakota Merytis, Jerry Nussenblatt, Ethan Qagliano, Dayanara Terpos and the three Zimmermans. Taylor Covington also has a part in the play and is a total natural on stage, Chaplin said.
“Charla is brand new to the theater — not to just our theater, but the theater period,” said Chaplin. “And she is absolutely phenomenal.”
The actors have been rehearsing diligently … mostly.
“For the first couple of weeks it was a problem because the cast couldn’t stop laughing at some of the lines,” said Chaplin. “But they got a hold of themselves and have been perfecting the split-second timing for this show.”
Expect mistaken identities, overblown egos, double entendres and something about a red rose.
“I don’t want to ruin the surprise, but look out for the red rose,” said Chaplin. Claudia McEwen is the producer of the show.
“Suite Surrender” opens on Thursday, April 22 and runs through May 15. The shows are Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings with a curtain at 8 p.m. There is a matinee scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, May 9. Tickets are $25 each and MCT members will receive a $5 discount per ticket. Tickets are available at Marathon Community Theatre’s Box Office in person, by phone at 305-743-0994 or at www.marathontheater.org.
COIVD-19 note: This is an indoor event, with face masks required to enter and move about the venue. Seating will be socially distanced and total seating is limited to 50 (about one-third of the auditorium capacity).
