The Melville Boys
by Norm Foster
March 4, 5, 10**, 11, 12, 13*, 17**, 18, 19, 20*, 2016
Theatre Jacksonville brings the work of Canada’s most produced playwright Norm Foster to life with the Florida premiere of his first hit play The Melville Boys running March 4 - 20. Theatre Jacksonville’s association with Mr. Foster began in 2013 when he appeared in the American premiere of his two character play On a First Name Basis as part of the Theatre Jacksonville International Theatre Festival. Theatre Jacksonville subsequently produced his comedy Hilda’s Yard as part of the following season in another American premiere production. Mr. Foster has had more than 40 different plays produced on professional stages including Maggie’s Getting Married, Mending Fences, The Melville Boys, and Wrong for Each Other, and we are thrilled, once again, to be sharing his critically acclaimed work on our mainstage.
In The Melville Boys, a relaxing weekend trip full of fishing, football, and beer is on the agenda for the Melville brothers. So is confronting eldest brother Lee’s terminal illness. But their trip is thrown for a loop when the boys meet two attractive sisters who inadvertently change more than their weekend plans. In this modern Canadian classic, Norm Foster offers a tender comedy full of vigor about brotherhood and the unexpected. As Variety put it, “The Melville Boys effortlessly weaves the comic and tragic.”