Is your love story one for the ages, such as Shakespeare wrote? Or more like a comedy starring Tina Fey? Ed Reggi wants to know your story.
Paper Slip Theatre is bringing audience love stories to life as they marry “The Dating Game” to “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” when the improv group presents “When We First Met” at 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 15, at Jacoby Arts Center, 627 E. Broadway in Alton.
Under the direction of comedian and the evening’s host, Reggi, the cast of the award-winning Paper Slip Theater will take true stories about dating and falling in love to a whole new comedy experience. Audience members provide all the stories as the evening unfolds into hilarity.
Reggi’s been doing the Valentine’s Day show for more than 12 years and said he never gets tired of hearing how couples met.
“We have never interviewed a couple who has not had the most amazing story of how they met,” he said. “This is what makes this show incredibly funny and original. I especially love to interview couples who have been together for 50 years, but I also love interviewing couples who met last month. It makes the stories so different and yet there is a unique commonality between both couples.”
Accompanying Reggi on stage are DeAnna Massie, Dustin Massie, Frank Zito, Mimi Ikard, MaryBeth Scherr and Darrell Barber.
“I love my cast. I have been so blessed to work with some of the best, most talented improv actors around the Midwest,” Reggi said.
Paper Slip Theatre is the region’s oldest professional improvisational theater company, making audiences laugh since 2000. Reggi, its founder and artistic director, is an Emmy award-winning commercial actor, director, screenwriter and producer. The ensemble is named after the classic improv game that takes audience suggestions written on tiny slips of paper, which performers must incorporate throughout the game.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or online. Seating is first-come, first-seated. Doors open 30 minutes in advance. A cash bar is available.
Attendees are invited to arrive early to view the free exhibit, “Art is . . . Eclectic: The Diverse Art of the Great St. Louis Art Association,” featuring various artists.