The Playwrights' Theatre of East Hampton at LTV Studios has a busy week ahead, starting Saturday at 7 p.m. when Mercedes Ruehl and Harris Yulin star in "Scenes of Mirth and Marriage," and continuing on Wednesday with a comedic four-night run of "Five Times in One Night" from the Actors Studio Drama School's 2024 repertory season.
"Scenes of Mirth and Marriage: A Theatrical Evening" reunites the two acclaimed actors, who have appeared together on the East End in A.R. Gurney's "Love Letters," Harold Pinter's "Betrayal," and Yasmina Reza's "The Unexpected Man," among others.
Directed by James Larocca with sound and music by David M. Brandenburg, "Scenes" features Ms. Ruehl and Mr. Yulin reading from works by such playwrights as Edward Albee, Noel Coward, and Neil Simon. A press release warns that the evening might include some music and "even a bit of Abbott and Costello thrown in for fun."
Ms. Ruehl's many film roles include "The Fisher King," which earned her Academy and Golden Globe awards; "Married to the Mob," "Heartburn," and "Slaves of New York." Her Broadway credits include Simon's "Lost in Yonkers," for which she won Tony and Drama Desk awards; "The Rose Tattoo," and "I'm Not Rappaport."
Mr. Yulin's extensive stage credits include "Long Day's Journey Into Night" at the Court Theater in Chicago; "Death of a Salesman" at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, and "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" at the Chautauqua Festival. He also directed the 2005 Off Broadway Revival of "The Trip to Bountiful," which earned four Lucille Lortel Awards, including for outstanding director.
Speaking (earlier) of "Love Letters," Mr. Larocca directed Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson in a production of that play at Guild Hall in 2004. Two years later, he wrote and directed "The Night of Seventy-Five Stars" at Guild Hall, whose cast included every luminary from Dina Merrill to Alec Baldwin and Bob Balaban, as well as Mr. Yulin and Ms. Ruehl.
Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door, and $65 for cafe table seating.
Written by Chiara Atik and originally premiered at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in 2015, "Five Times in One Night" features five couples, from different moments in time, exploring the delights and disappointments of their sex lives. The couples range from Adam and Eve to Abelard and Eloise to modern-day partners to the two lone survivors in A.D. 2119.
"Five Times in One Night" stars Carly Cooper and Cameron Eastland, both of whom hold M.F.A. degrees from the Actors Studio Drama School. Ms. Cooper served as the company manager of the Neo-Political Cowgirls during their 2023 run of "The Dreamer" at LTV. "Five Times" began life as Mr. Eastland's M.F.A. thesis.
Rabiah Rowther, a director, screenwriter, and producer who has served on the screening committee for the Hamptons International Film Festival since 2022, is the production's director.
Ms. Atik is a playwright and screenwriter whose play "Poor Clare" won the 2022 American Theatre Critics Association's New Play Award and the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for best new play.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door.
