Pasadena Playhouse begins performances of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s “The Visit” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 9, the first night of a preview week and of a run that ends Oct. 4.
Melinda Page Hamilton plays Claire Zachanassian, the richest woman in the world, who returns to the struggling hometown she left and offers to rescue it from ruin on one condition: that the townspeople put her former lover to death. Jefferson Mays plays that man, Anton Schill. Hamilton’s screen work includes “Mad Men” and “Desperate Housewives.”
“The Visit” opens the Playhouse’s 2026-27 season. The production reunites Mays with director Darko Tresnjak, who directed him in the Playhouse’s “Amadeus” last season, according to the theater’s casting announcement. Both hold Tony Awards, Tresnjak’s for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.” Maurice Valency adapted the play, and his version later became the basis of the Kander and Ebb Broadway musical of the same name. Dürrenmatt, a Swiss playwright who died in 1990, wrote it in 1956.
The Playhouse designates Wednesday a Wine Wednesday and invites ticket holders to arrive early for complimentary wine before the show.
The theater puts the running time at two hours, including a 15-minute intermission. Tickets start at $40, and the Playhouse listed Wednesday’s performance as limited as of Sept. 4. The Playhouse offers discounts of up to 35 percent for groups of 10 or more.
Three later performances carry additional services. A Talkback Tuesday is scheduled for the 7:30 p.m. performance on Sept. 22. On Saturday, Sept. 26, the theater offers onsite childcare during the 2 p.m. matinee, with a workshop for children ages 5 through 12 led by teaching artists. The 2 p.m. performance on Sunday, Sept. 27, is both open-captioned and audio-described.
The cast also includes Christian Barillas, Jennifer Chang, Ricardo Chavira and Lauren Worsham. Chang and Worsham were both in “Amadeus.” Alexander Dodge designed the set and Charlotte Devaux the costumes, according to the Playhouse.
Pasadena Playhouse is at 39 S. El Molino Ave. in Pasadena.
Wednesday, Sept. 9, 7:30 p.m. Pasadena Playhouse, 39 S. El Molino Ave., Pasadena. For more call (626) 356-7529 or visit pasadenaplayhouse.org. Tickets start at $40.
