Rose Valley’s Hedgerow Theatre Company kicks off its new season this week with ‘Fly Me to the Moon‘, a dark comedy by Northern Irish playwright Marie Jones. Directed by Philadelphia-based playwright, director, and actor Emma Gibson, the witty tale follows two community care workers on their way to visit their patient Davey McGee, a lonely man dedicated to his newspaper, horse races, and memories of Frank Sinatra. The day takes an unexpected turn and Frances (Marcia Saunders) and Loretta (Susan McKey) find themselves faced with extraordinary, slightly outrageous, opportunities.
This production also marks a milestone for Hedgerow’s 2025–2026 season, with the theater rolling out exciting new innovations to expand accessibility for audiences. Beginning Oct. 23, theater-goers can experience ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ with Watch Word Live smart caption glasses offering real-time, customizable captioning for live performances. Hedgerow is only the third U.S. theater to adopt this technology, joining two other regional theaters, and the glasses can be worn over standard eyeglasses.
Below, Emma Gibson, shares more about the play’s humor, heart, and relevance, plus the production’s partnership with The Alzheimer’s Association of Delaware County, and where she finds optimism both on stage and off. Additionally, Executive Artistic Director Marcie Bramucci details how the glasses will work and talks about the accessibility and inclusion initiatives this season.
What drew you to Marie Jones’s ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ and inspired you to direct it at Hedgerow this season?
Gibson: I was introduced to ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ by the late, great David MacLennan of Oran Mor, Glasgow several years ago. The play was initially produced as part of ‘a Play, a Pie and a Pint’ at Oran Mor and as a result, I went on to produce it for Tiny Dynamite as part of our first season in 2011. This was a low budget, low tech production and yet it worked. Since that production, playwright Marie Jones has written a full-length version and expanded on the one act which is what we are presenting here at Hedgerow.
Fourteen years since that original production, and this story about the remarkable strength of women surviving economic hardship feels all too relevant. But whilst Francis and Loretta’s desperate situation feels familiar to many of us, what is most striking is how Jones tells their story. The juxtaposition of tragic events with laugh out loud comedy gives us gold standard farce. Adding in characters that we can care deeply about, plot twists that just keep coming, and two terrific actors, it’s proving to be a joyous show to work on.
Now more than ever, it feels vitally important to produce plays by female playwrights (gender parity please) and I am grateful that Marcie Bramucci, Executive Artist Director of Hedgerow, champions this work. It also feels important to produce plays that center female characters who are 40+. Marie Jones initially wrote the roles for women in their 30s. She has been gracious enough to allow us to adjust her writing for slightly older actors. There is a wealth of talented female actresses in our area who do not have the opportunities that they deserve and I’m proud and honored to redress the balance in some small way.
Is there a particular reason why you think ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is a good fit for Hedgerow’s space in an old grist-mill? How did the atmosphere shape your staging for the production?
Gibson: The intimacy of The Hedgerow stage fits this Irish two-hander beautifully. The stage has been raised for this production allowing us to bring the audience even closer to the action. Our intention has been to make the audience feel as though they are eavesdropping on the lives of these women. The play is set in an elderly man’s bedroom and the décor and dressing is all from the past, a past that he has clung on to since the moment he saw his hero, Frank Sinatra, at the London Palladium in 1950.
How fitting then to be in an historic theatre where the ghosts of playwrights past linger in the stone walls. From Edward Albee to Eugene O’Neill and even Irish playwright Sean O’Casey. It feels fitting that Marie Jones’s work now inhabits this space.
What personal connections or insights do you bring to directing an Irish story, having grown up in the UK?
Gibson: As most Irish people would agree, being part of The United Kingdom does not make me an authority on Irish culture. However, I did grow up in a small rural town in Sussex which is not dissimilar from the location where we are setting the play. Both these communities center around the local pub or the village shop, and gossip and storytelling are at the heart of village life. There’s high unemployment and economic hardship, but there’s also a culture of care and gratitude, much like the world in ‘Fly me to the Moon’. It’s a place I miss and recognize.
I’d also like to hope that my many travels to Ireland, and my research into both the dramaturgy surrounding the play and my personal interest in Irish theatre history, has supported my work bringing this story authentically to life for an American audience.
Hedgerow is introducing Watch Word Live smart caption glasses this season. What excites you most about this step forward?
Gibson: ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ speaks to a ‘forgotten’ older generation that is largely ignored. Davy Magee, a character in the play, is a stroke victim and has no ability to communicate beyond the use of Post-It Notes by his bed. His only interactions are with his daily care-workers who provide both comfort and support. In rehearsal we have been asking questions about how it must feel to be so cut off from society.
It feels appropriate, therefore, that Hedgerow is launching its smart glasses technology right now. With the additions of closed captioning, all access performances and fully accessible seating, Hedgerow’s mission to make theatre available for everyone is in direct contrast to the world within our play.
Additionally, in partnership with this production and with The Alzheimer’s Association of Delaware County, Hedgerow is offering free workshops to local memory care centers. These workshops intend to use theatre exercises as a path for comfort and engagement with local residents, but also to provide support for the care workers (like Francis and Loretta in our play) who are navigating the challenges of these diagnoses. I find this multi-faceted, fully inclusive approach to theatre- making deeply exciting.
Can you tell us a bit about how the glasses will work and what audience members need to do in order to borrow a pair?
Bramucci: These glasses offer immersive, real-time captioning for live theatre, displaying a synchronized script of the play directly on the lenses and is customizable for user comfort. Hedgerow follows our fellow regional companies People’s Light and Arden Theatre Company as the third theater in North America to embrace this technology. ‘Fly Me to the Moon’ will be the first Hedgerow production where our audiences can request these glasses, and are available for performances beginning Oct. 23. Our inventory is limited, so we recommend patrons reserve them in advance by emailing company@hedgerowtheatre.org or calling the box office at 610-565-4211.
In what other ways can audiences benefit from Hedgerow’s accessibility and inclusion initiatives this season?
Bramucci: Hedgerow Theatre strives to be an inclusive and welcoming space for all individuals through special performances. It has always been important to us as a company to create a space where everyone can share in the human experiences we bring to our stage.
In addition to the Watch Word Live program, we offer relaxed performances allowing patrons, especially neurodiverse or sensory-sensitive audiences, to express themselves freely in a “shush-free” environment. These performances also include a pre-show sensory tour.
For select performances, we provide open-caption monitors that display the spoken dialogue and sound effects as well as audio description performances by Nicole Sardella for patrons with low vision. In addition to accessibility programming, Hedgerow welcomes LGBTQIA+ audiences to attend our special PRIDE Happy Hour performances, a family-friendly pre-show reception with drinks and light bites for LGBTQ+ friends and allies.
Without giving much away, is there a moment in the story or a character that made you laugh the most during rehearsals?
Gibson: This is tricky as I don’t want to give the plot away and many of the moments that make me laugh out loud will do that. I will say that working with actors who are so adept at comedy makes the rehearsal process a lot of fun. Susan McKey plays Loretta and her physical instincts and reactions to what is happening plot-wise make me laugh every time. Marcia Saunders, as her counterpart, beautifully balances this chaos and her ever increasing ideas of how to capitalize on ‘what has happened’ land like perfect punch lines.
The play celebrates finding optimism even in difficult circumstances. What small moments of hope or joy do you notice in everyday life right now?
Gibson: That’s a great question! We are all looking for those moments right now, aren’t we? I think for me, it’s the moments when I can be in nature with my dog and disconnect from the news cycle or the relentless social media train. It’s a poem by Andrea Gibson (‘Wellness Check’). It’s a new album by Wolf Alice that is stuck on repeat. It’s snatched conversations with my family 3,000 miles away. And yes, it’s the absolute gift of being able to work in the profession I love, with people I care about and respect. That’s what brings me joy right now.
‘Fly Me to the Moon’ is on stage now through Nov. 2. For tickets and more information, visit hedgerowtheatre.org.
