By Alicia Taylor-Domville
In a 75-minute comedy, Annabelle Gurwitch and Jeff Kahn will take their audience through the ups and downs of love and marriage in the stage play “You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up!” The couple adapted the play from their book of the same title.
The Queens Theatre is the first stop for the play, and it will continue on to 11 other cities before it ends in March. It began its run Nov. 30 and will continue in Queens through Dec. 9.
The play follows the couple and their opposing personalities as they try to navigate through marriage. They turn parenting into a competitive sport and disagree on everything from anniversaries to Facebook. The couple drops out of couples therapy in an attempt to fix their problems on their own.
Ironically, their crazy lifestyle is what keeps the marriage intact and they learn to embrace each other’s differences. This is the second national tour — the play’s first appearance in New York was at the 2009 New York Comedy Festival.
The cast includes Gabrielle Mirabella as Annabelle and Jonathan Van Dyke as Jeff. Mirabella is originally from Florida but came to New York to attend the Manhattan School of Music. She studied theater and opera.
Van Dyke is a member of the Dramatist Guild and wrote the award-winning play “Spring at the Willowbrook Inn.” Van Dyke has also recently appeared in “Boeing, Boeing,” “Holiday Inc.” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”
“The play is relatable to most couples” said Joe Trentacosta, spokesman for the play. “Couples are either elbowing each other saying, ‘You do that all the time’ or, ‘See, we aren’t that bad.’”
For more information, visit queenstheatre.org.
If You Go
Queens Theatre
14 United Nations Ave. S.
Flushing Meadows Corona Park
Dec. 7, 7:30 p.m., Dec. 8, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Dec. 9, 3 p.m.
$25-$49
(718) 760-0064
queenstheatre.org
