Did the one who got away really get away? Does the right match come down to timing, or compatibility, or courage to take a leap? In this tale of a friendship-turned love affair, two friends from childhood who have long longed for each other take divergent paths and come to question the source of true love.
In her upcoming comedic play, Whenever You’re Near Me I Feel Sick, which will be performed next month as part of The Women’s Voices Theater Festival, homegrown talent Jennie Berman Eng shines a light on the choices we must make to become adults and this generation’s grappling with growing up.
Whenever You’re Near Me I Feel Sick will open September 17, 2015 at The Trinidad Theatre – 1358 Florida Avenue NE, in Washington, DC, and run in repertory with Princess Margaret, by Patricia Connelly through October 4, 2015. The Noma-Gallaudet U/New York Ave Metro Station is the closest Metrorail station.
In the play, twenty-somethings Wendy and Andre are in love with each other, but to admit that would mean taking chances, making a commitment and being vulnerable. When Andre tells Wendy he does love her and has always loved her, she dismisses his advances with jokes, and he moves away and moves on. But neither of them ever really moves on, and neither really grows up. Apart from each other, Wendy and Andre stagnate professionally and emotionally, and stumble through marriages to other people. When they run into each other eight years later, with children in tow, they are forced to confront what they have always felt. They must wrestle with the difficult choices that set their paths and regrets in life.
Whenever You’re Near Me I Feel Sick features Ariana Almajan, Ricardo Frederick Evans* (*Appearing courtesy of Actor’s Equity Association), Taunya Ferguson, and Marta Kotzian. Lighting design is by Sarah Chapin; Sound Design by Jonathan Powers;Set Design by Jack Golden; and Projections by Dan Kempner; and Art is by Eric Gordon.
Jennie Berman Eng is a 2014 and 2016 Theater J Locally Grown Playwright. Recently, Jennie’s work was seen at The 1 Minute Play Festival, LiveArt DC’s Play in a Day, The Intersections Festival, and the 2014 Capital Fringe Festival, where her play Bethesda premiered. Jennie was born and raised in the DC area, and often writes about life in its suburbs. She has am MFA, in Dramatic Writing, from the New School for Drama, and is a member of the Dramatist Guild.
For tickets and more information about Whenever You’re Near Me I Feel Sick, or Pat Connelly’s Princess Margaret, go to Thelma Theatre’s website.
