Beth Leavel and Karen Ziemba lead the cast of Shaw’s “Village Wooing” Off-Broadway

“Village Wooing,” George Bernard Shaw’s romantic comedy written in 1933, returns to the Off-Broadway stage in a brand-new gender-neutral adaptation headlined by two Tony Award winners.

Gingold Theatrical Group announced that Beth Leavel, a Tony winner for “The Drowsy Chaperone,” and Karen Ziemba, a Tony winner for “Contact,” will lead the production’s rotating cast, alongside Tony nominees Robert Cuccioli (“Jekyll & Hyde”) and Tom Hewitt (“The Rocky Horror Show”).

The play, adapted and directed by artistic director David Staller, will run for just four performances at The House of the Redeemer in Manhattan, from October 22 to 25. Leavel and Cuccioli perform on October 22 at 7:00 p.m.; Ziemba and Hewitt on October 23 at 7:00 p.m.; Cuccioli and Hewitt on October 24 at 7:00 p.m.; and Leavel and Ziemba close the run on October 25 at 3:00 p.m.

“Village Wooing” follows two resolutely independent people, determined to stay single, who meet on a pleasure boat. Their conversation — at first casual, then increasingly irresistible — continues through later encounters, as argument turns to attraction and an unlikely friendship is born. The adaptation opens up the roles, identified as “A” and “Z” in Shaw’s original, to actors of any gender, while preserving the wit and emotional complexity of his language.

“Village Wooing is Shaw at his most playful, intimate and unexpectedly romantic,” Staller said. Proceeds from the performances will support Gingold Theatrical Group’s artistic programs, including the Project Shaw reading series and Off-Broadway productions.

Source: Playbill — https://playbill.com/article/beth-leavel-karen-ziemba-more-will-lead-george-bernard-shaws-village-wooing-off-broadway