NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, Feb. 5.
SEQUIM — Thespians Ron Graham and Angela Poynter-Lemaster, both of Port Angeles, will explore the intricacies of marriage as the stars of “I Do! I Do!” when it hits the stage tonight in Sequim.
“I Do! I Do!” “is a truly creative script with wonderful original music that I think our community will really appreciate,” director Charlotte Carroll said.
“It’s humorous and warm and just simply delightful. If you are married, not married, thinking about getting married — or not — this show is sure to amuse.”
The show “is primarily a musical comedy and is filled with lots of laughs, but it has moments that will tug at your heartstrings and perhaps bring a tear to your eye,” Carroll said.
Three-week run
Tonight’s performance marks the start of a three-week run of the play presented by Olympic Theatre Arts.
The last performance will be Feb. 21. The performances, held at Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave., begin at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoons.
There will be no performance on Super Bowl Sunday this weekend but instead an additional performance Thursday, Feb. 18, at 7:30 p.m.
There also will be a “pay what you will” performance at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 11, during which attendees can pay only what they can afford.
Ticket information
Tickets are $22, with a $2 discount for OTA members. Tickets are available online at www.olympictheatrearts.org, via telephone at 360-683-7326 or at the theater box office — open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
“I Do! I Do!,” a musical adaptation of Jan de Hartog’s classic play “The Fourposter,” follows married couple Agnes and Michael Snow as they traverse life from newlyweds in 1895 through old age in 1945.
“The story begins with their wedding at around 1895 when Agnes and Michael move into their home together on their wedding night,” Carroll said.
“Then all the love, laughter and trials and tribulations of marriage follow — most of it set to wonderful music,” she said.
“The show progresses through five decades and comes full circle when they are finally leaving their home for a smaller place and awaiting the arrival of the new young married couple who will be moving into their home.”
Many hair and costume changes “depict the passing of the decades,” Carroll said.
Agnes is portrayed by Poynter-Lemaster, while Michael is portrayed by Graham.
“Both are neither as young as Agnes and Michael start out to be [nor] as old as Agnes and Michael end up being,” Carroll said.
“They’re somewhere smack dab in the middle. It’s theater.”
Only two characters, Agnes and Michael, are onstage throughout the entire play, Carroll said, although the two will share the stage with a three-piece ensemble including piano, bass and drums.
“Children are referred to and spoken of, but no one else appears except Agnes and Michael,” she said.
The set consists solely of the Snow bedroom, dominated by a large four-poster bed in the center of the room.
Still relevant
Although the play depicts a married couple from a long-dead generation, the subject matter remains relevant in the 21st century, Carroll said.
“Marriage and relationships are just as relevant today as they were back in the ‘good old days,’ ” she said.
“That’s what ‘I Do! I Do!’ is all about. Some of the challenges are slightly different as time goes by, but most of them are the same today.”
That includes husbands waiting for their wives to get ready and to find their purse, keys or gloves before going out the door; and for wives who put up with husbands who can’t find their clean socks or shirts and expect their wives to find them for him, Carroll said.
“And, of course, they’re right where they’re supposed to be all along,” she said.
“As they say, the more things change, the more they stay the same.”
“I think,” Carroll continued, “anyone who has been in a relationship will see themselves in Agnes and Michael.
“They’ll be able to relate to their struggles and their joys. Certainly anyone who has been married for any length of time will be elbowing one another in recognition of situations that will hit home.”
Bringing characters to life
Poynter-Lemaster and Graham make Agnes and Michael come alive, Carroll said.
“They have been a complete joy to work with.”
Poynter-Lemaster and Graham are experienced stage actors who have appeared at various venues throughout the Olympic Peninsula.
They most recently played opposite each other last November in “The Man Who Came to Dinner” at OTA.
Graham played the leading role, Sheridan Whiteside, and Poynter-Lemaster his nemesis, the haughty and naughty actress Lorraine Sheldon.
Not to be overlooked “is our musical director, Geri Zanon, also from Port Angeles,” Carroll said.
“Geri is so very gifted and has made my work as director ever so much easier.
“What would a musical be without the music? She made it happen.”
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Reporter Chris McDaniel can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or cmcdaniel@peninsuladailynews.com.
