A gay character is part of the ensemble of the new “The Book Club Play,” opening next week at Horizon Theatre.
Save for a young woman who is in her ‘20s, the characters here are all pushing 40 and dealing with that challenge. At the heart of the comedy is Ana (Wendy Melkonian), a control freak of sorts who is a features writer for a newspaper and a passionate founder of her book club.
The other two founders are her husband, Rob (Bryan Brendle), who is more into the social aspects of the club than the reading, and their historian friend Will (John Benzinger). Others in the club are Ana’s friend Jen (Maria Rodriguez-Sager), Ana’s young protégé Lily (Danielle Deadwyler) and Alex (Dan Triandiflou), a comparative literature professor who challenges the group with a notion that to be part of culture, they need to embrace the Beyonce along with the Bach.