Hampton Theatre Company Opens 2021–22 Season with 'Native Gardens'

Hampton Theatre Company is kicking off their 2021–2022 season with the play Native Gardens by Karen Zacarías, opening at the Quogue Community Hall on October 21 and running through November 7.

Native Gardens brings home the often-hysterical truth of the old saying “You can’t choose your neighbors” as cultures and gardens collide, turning two well-intentioned couples into feuding enemies.

Rising attorney Pablo and doctoral candidate Tania, his very pregnant wife, have just purchased a home next to Frank and Virginia, a well-established D.C. couple with a prize-worthy English garden. But an impending barbecue for Pablo’s colleagues and a delicate disagreement over a longstanding fence line soon spiral into an all-out border dispute, exposing both couples’ notions of race, taste, class and privilege.

The play was hailed by Broadway World as “a lighthearted comedy with some heavier threads woven through for just the right amount of heft.” The Chicago Tribune called it “a comedy planted in difficult, painful issues.”

Among the actors appearing in this Hampton Theatre Company (HTC) production of Native Gardens are three HTC veterans: Terrance Fiore as Frank, Martha Kelly as Virginia, and Samantha Herrera as Tania. Edwin Alexander Cruz, a newcomer to the HTC stage, steps into the role of Pablo Del Valle.

George Loizides (HTC’s Don’t Dress for Dinner, Private Lives, Lost in Yonkers) directs with set design is by Gary Hygom, lighting design by Sebastian Paczynski, sound by Seamus Naughton, and costumes by Teresa Lebrun.

HTC’s Native Gardens is playing at the Quogue Community Hall (125 Jessup Avenue) in Quogue October 21–November 7, with shows on Thursdays and Fridays at 7 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. An additional matinee performance will be offered on Saturday, November 6 at 2:30 p.m. and a talkback with the cast will follow the Friday, October 29 performance.

Tickets are $36, $31 for seniors, and $20 for students 25 and younger. Visit hamptontheatre.org to purchase tickets, and call 631-653-8955 for additional info.

HTC is following strict COVID safety protocols, including masks and proof of vaccination or negative test. They can be reviewed at hamptontheatre.org before purchasing tickets.