The Realistic Joneses

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Steve Noll

The cast of "The Realistic Joneses," a Madison Theatre Guild production (from left): John Jajewski, Julie Jarvis, Patrick O'Hara, Annie Jones.

Madison Theatre Guild continues its 75th season with The Realistic Joneses. John and Pony Jones move in next door to Bob and Jennifer Jones, with whom they share the same last name but no relation. The four Joneses’ lives begin to entangle when they begin sharing truths in this wacky, honest and intimate play. By Will Eno, the play opened on Broadway in 2014. Showtimes: 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 20-22 and 26-28; and 2 p.m., Jan. 23 and 29.

press release: The third time's a charm! Madison Theatre Guild has scheduled this one twice before, but it's been postponed due to the pandemic.

The next production of our 75th Season opens on January 20, 2022, at the Bartell Theatre: The Realistic Joneses  by Will Eno. Directed by Suzan Kurry.

Bob Jones and his wife Jennifer meet their new next-door neighbors, John and Pony Jones – no relation. Funny, moving, and weird, the Joneses discuss their lives, giving an inside look at the people next door, the truths we think we know, and the secrets we never imagined we all might share. Described as “like a sitcom broadcast from a weirder, more melancholy world.”

Performances: January 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 - 7:30 pm curtain; January 23 & 29 - 2:00 pm matinees.

All tickets are $20; Wednesday's performance - $15.

ALSO:

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has issued a Mayoral Proclamation declaring that Thursday, January 20, 2022 is "Madison Theatre Guild Day," in honor of the group's 75th Anniversary Season.

The Madison Theatre Guild (MTG) was formed in 1946, when a small group of community members met at the Wisconsin Union Theatre to develop plans for creating a community theater.  In November of that year, MTG presented its first production, The Late George Apley, by John P. Marquand and George S. Kaufman. The play was performed at West High School on November 23, 1946, and at East High School on November 30, 1946, and was directed by Nancy P. Eichsteadt.

MTG President Jim Chiolino said, "We are thrilled that the Mayor has chosen to honor MTG in this way.  This honor belongs to all of those generations of Dane County residents who have created art with MTG over the years!"

In every year since 1946, including a March 2020 production and a November 2021 production, MTG has presented affordable, excellent theater for the people of southern Wisconsin. Since the 1960s, MTG has occupied a historic 1939 Firehouse on Monroe Street, where the company builds sets, rehearses productions, and maintains costumes, set pieces, and properties.

MTG also received a Certificate of Commendation, signed by Governor Tony Evers, further honoring the group on its 75th Anniversary.

The group's season continues with Will Eno's comedy The Realistic Joneses, opening on "Madison Theatre Guild Day," January 20, 2022, and ending with the hilarious romp Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang, in May of 2022.