Opening Night Audience Will Meet the Cast

Following the opening night performance of Funny Money at San Juan Community Theatre, the Friday night audience is invited to join the director and cast for a post-performance reception. The party, hosted by CATS, includes "rich" desserts and festive beverages, and one lucky patron will win a pair of tickets to the opening night performance of Hello, Dolly! in April.

If you have a penchant for meeting celebrities, the Feb. 27 performance affords you the opportunity to meet Tina Grenville-Cagwin. Grenville is a professional actress who has enjoyed a long career in television and film, largely in Australia and New Zealand. Her credentials also include modeling for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip, and in television and print campaigns for Clairol. She and her husband, Tom Cagwin, are part-time island residents.

So how does a nice professional like her end up volunteering in a place like this? "This in my new community," Grenville explains, "and this is the best way I know how to make a contribution to it." Because she is not yet a year-round resident, she felt she couldn't effectively serve on any boards or do other volunteer work.

This is Grenville's third appearance in an SJCT production. "I actually have done relatively little stage work in my career," she said. "It's such a different experience, because the cameras in television and film give the actors a much more intimate exposure. Film work feels more like reality. By comparison, stage work requires larger gestures and vocal strength. It feels a little more like you're pretending very loudly."

Grenville also confided that compared to the outrageous things her television soap opera characters have done, her stage roles here have had an unexpected benefit. "I have such lovely husbands in your plays," she beamed, referring to Bill Lembeck in Funny Money, Warren Baehr in Deathtrap in 2003, James Krall in Communicating Doors in 2002. "They're all so charming and attractive."

Sponsored by Islanders Bank, there are eight performances of the hilarious farce, directed by Andrew V. McLaglen. Funny Money runs Thursday through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26-28 and Mar. 4-6, with 2:00 p.m. matinees on Sundays, Feb. 29 and Mar. 7. Tickets can be ordered through our ONLINE BOX OFFICE or by calling 360.378.3210. The box office is open Tuesday through Saturday and one hour before the show.