Postponed to Next Season

Due to unforeseen circumstances, SOAP Theatre has had to reschedule the planned February 2025 production of Plaza Suite, which will be moved to our 2025/26 season. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Ticket holders who purchased by debit or credit card will be sent an automatic refund by Venables Theatre. If you purchased in person using cash or cheque, you can contact Venables Theatre to arrange a full refund as follows:

• By email to [email protected]
• In person during regular office hours (Tue-Wed-Thu from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm), or
• By phone (250-498-1626) during the same office hours.

We regret and again apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, particularly for those who recently brought tickets as Christmas gifts. We would like to thank you for your ongoing support and hope you will consider supporting a different upcoming production (maybe Steel Magnolias in May of this year ??)

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What's it About?
Neil Simon’s comedic look at three couples facing the passage of time is sharp and knowing, but above-all, it is earnest. Relationship dynamics are explored head-on and with openness.

Plaza Suite portrays three couples who each occupy Suite 719 at the Plaza Hotel at different stages throughout the year. With this trio of vignettes, SOAP is taking a unique approach to a timeless and hilarious classic. With Director Consultant Ritchie Kendrick in the coach's chair, we are welcoming a series of new faces both on stage and off. Each one of the three acts in this play will see a different director and different main characters. 

First up, "Visitors From Mamaroneck," centers on Sam and Karen Nash, a long-married suburban couple who have come to the hotel to celebrate their 24th wedding anniversary...or is it their 23rd? Or is it actually their anniversary at all?

They are succeeded by the "Visitor form Hollywood", a hotshot who has returned to New York to seek out his (now married) high school girlfriend. After three doomed marriages, he is eager to remind himself of the sweet innocence of a suburban woman...with a little sexual diversion along the way. However, her obsession with Hollywood and overindulgence in the vodka stingers gives him more than he bargained for.

Finally, the suite is occupied by a "Visitors form Forest Hills" a couple who are about to celebrate the wedding of their daughter...if they can get her out of the bathroom. Tension rises and tempers flare as all their attempts to get her to unlock the door seem to fail.

The Playwright
Neil Simon was an American playwright, screenwriter, and author who was born on July 4, 1927, in The Bronx, New York City. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful and prolific playwrights in American history, with a career that spanned over five decades. Simon's work often focused on the trials and tribulations of middle-class life, and his plays were known for their wit, humor, and insight.

Simon began his career as a comedy writer in the 1940s, working on radio and television shows. He made his Broadway debut in 1961 with the play Come Blow Your Horn, which was a commercial success and ran for over a year. This was followed by a string of successful plays, including Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Sweet Charity, and Plaza Suite.

Simon's success on Broadway earned him numerous awards and accolades, including four Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. He was also inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1983.

In addition to his work on Broadway, Simon also wrote for film and television. He wrote the screenplays for several successful movies, including The Goodbye Girl, The Heartbreak Kid, and Biloxi Blues. He also wrote for television, creating the popular sitcom The Odd Couple and writing for shows such as Your Show of Shows and The Phil Silvers Show.

Simon continued to write and produce plays well into his later years. His last Broadway production, Rose's Dilemma, premiered in 2003. Simon passed away on August 26, 2018, at the age of 91. His legacy as one of the greatest American playwrights of all time lives on through his work, which continues to be performed and enjoyed by audiences around the world.

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