APRIL, MAY AND JUNE by Carol Kaufman Segal

            April, May & June, a well written play by Gary Goldstein and directed by Terri Hanauer, is making its world premiere at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills.  It is not a play about the seasons, but one about three sisters in their forties, born a year apart. 

            You might expect there to be camaraderie between the three sisters since they are so close in age, but they grew up with different personalities and temperaments.  They grew up Jewish, but had a maternal Gentile grandmother who was said to have made the best Matzo ball soup!

                        April (Jennifer Lee Laks), being the eldest, is the most dominant.  Her marriage fell apart after she discovered her husband’s infidelity.  May (Jennifer Taub) never forgets she is the “middle one” and is conscious of her weight, but enjoys a happy marriage.  June (Meredith Thomas) is a lesbian who has a partner who has strayed. 

            Their mother recently passed away and they have gathered together to pack up everything left in the home where they grew up.  As they go through the process of scrapping their memories, their differences become more obvious.  When, at last, they are nearing the end of their job, they suddenly discover some hidden letters stashed behind a desk drawer. 

            When they cautiously open them up, they are shocked to discover love letters to their mother.  What is more shocking, they are from a teacher each of them had known from their school days.  Their mother had been the stalwart parent as they grew up with an alcoholic father, a perfect mother.   And what of their mother who they thought they knew so well, a woman who kept her secret while enduring her marriage throughout? 

            Everything from their childhood and growing up will seem different to them from now on in the light of what they have discovered.  Will it impact their relationships or their lives?     

            All three actresses give powerful performances and bring these three sisters to llife.  As Gary Goldstein says about why he wrote this play, “….if the words of this play can in any small way, help one rethink or reconcile any unsettled feelings toward a parent or a sibling, wouldn’t that be a great bonus?”

            April, May & June is produced by David Hunt Stafford, set design by Jeff G. Rack, and is playing at Theatre 40, in the Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 S. Moreno Dr., Beverly Hills, on the campus of the Beverly Hills High School.  Performances are Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 2 PM, through April 16.  For reservations, call (310) 364-0535, or, for online ticketing, go to www.theatre40.org.

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