(Above: Rebecca Nachison and Chris Pinto are the cast in the two-actor show, Kalamazoo, a new Not Ready for Retirement Players production at the Wildish Theater)

By Randi Bjornstad

In real life they’re Rebecca and Chris, but in Kalamazoo they become Peg and Irv, an unlikely couple of older, lonely, widowed adults who separately decide to try to find companionship via an online dating website.

It’s a romantic — of sorts — comedy as actors Rebecca Nachison and Chris Pinto, as so many millions have before them, create their vastly different profiles (she’s an avid birdwatcher and Roman Catholic, while he’s a Jewish metal-detecting enthusiast) that somehow picks them to make a cyber “connection.”

The plot of Kalamazoo, of course, follows them in their adventure of learning about and trying to get along with another person of vastly different experiences and interests while at the same time trying to satisfy personal needs for a relationship in the wake of loss.

The play is the most recent production of the Not Ready for Retirement Players, aka NR4RP, an ensemble started several years ago by Pinto for that express reason. Past productions of well-known scripts have included Doubt, Funny Money, and Heroes, as well as several plays by Eugene-area playwrights.

Chris McVay, one of the original Not Ready for Retirement Players, directs Kalamazoo, which was written by Michelle Kholos Brooks and Kelly Younger and in 2015 won the Reva Shiner Comedy Award, bestowed annually by the Bloomington Playwrights.

In announcing the play, McVay said the company “all very much liked the gentle humor and the likeability of the characters.”

“Their desire to find someone to continue with, and to share their story with — these concerns
are relevant to all of us baby boomers,” he said, But he promises that the play also will ring true with younger people in the audience, because the search for love and acceptance knows no boundaries of age.

“Peg and Irv aren’t your grandparents,” McVay said. “They’re you. They’re all of us.”

Kalamazoo

When: Evenings at 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, 10, 15, and 17; matinees at 2 p.m. on Aug. 11 and 18

Where: Wildish Community Theater, 630 Main St. in downtown Springfield

Tickets: $20 general admission; $15 on Thrifty Thursday on Aug. 15, available by telephone at 541-868-0689 or online at wildishtheater.com

Information: notreadyforretirementplayers.com or facebook.com/thenotreadyforretirementplayers