A curtain call for Deep Dish in Chapel Hill

At the end of its season, Deep Dish Theater Company will have served up its last plays in Chapel Hill.

Located at University Place for nearly 15 years, the professional theater company will close its doors on Nov. 14, the final curtain call of its two rotating plays: “Outside Mullingar” and “The Cherry Orchard.”

“Outside Mullingar,” a romantic comedy about two middle-aged Irish farmers trying to hold onto their land and keep from falling in love, will open Friday.

“The Cherry Orchard,” a play following the inhabitants of a country Russian estate in the early 1900s, opened Oct. 2.

“We wanted to finish up in a grand fashion,” said Paul Frellick, artistic director for Deep Dish. “We wanted to go out big — to put a capper on our tenure there.”

Frellick said that while University Place has been generous and accommodating, rent has increased. Higher rent and the need for more space prompted the move.

“We do everything in that one space,” he said.

Frellick said the process of looking for a new space actually began several years ago, but only recently became a matter of urgency.

The company said Northgate Mall in Durham is the most likely choice, with the theater company hopefully opening in fall 2016.

Although Deep Dish members will miss Chapel Hill, they hope that the company won’t be missing much of the same audience.

Raleigh resident and actor in “The Cherry Orchard” Dorothy Brown has been with Deep Dish for about 13 years in Chapel Hill, but recognizes that the move allows for a chance to expand the audience.

“The Chapel Hill audience has been very loyal,” she said. “I hope they will move with us.”

Matthew Hager, UNC graduate and actor who is also starring in “The Cherry Orchard,” said Chapel Hill, especially the theater community, will certainly feel Deep Dish’s absence.

“It’s never a good thing when there is a resource shut down in theater,” he said.

Both of the actors, however, said they are looking forward to the move with positivity and open minds.

“(Deep Dish) has big plans, and I’m sure this will turn into a great opportunity,” Hager said. “I am excited for the prospect to mean bigger and better things.”

Frellick said that he believes the Chapel Hill community will be all right, with the rise of improv and the music community breathing new life into the town.

“In any college town, what’s great is having people come out with an urgency to create work,” he said.

As for Deep Dish, Brown said that she is ready for the next chapter — the next 15 years.

While “Outside Mullingar” and “The Cherry Orchard” are two very different plays, one theme is at the forefront of them both — the concept of home.

These plays, fittingly enough, will carry Deep Dish through the end of its time in Chapel Hill.

@MariaMullis2017

arts@dailytarheel.com