Deborah Grimberg's Cycling Past the Matterhorn, starring Shirley Knight, will end its off-Broadway run on November 6. When it closes, it will have played a total of 11 previews and 45 regular performances. Cycling Past the Matterhorn was scheduled to run at off-Broadway's Clurman Theatre through December 11.
Set in contemporary London, Cycling Past the Matterhorn is a comedy about a mother and daughter at a crossroads. Amy is a young sidewalk psychic with mediocre abilities who earns her modest living forecasting the troubled lives of the British public. Amy's eccentric mother, Esther Knight, has recently been left by her husband and has just discovered she is slowly going blind. Amy, fearing being stuck as Esther's caretaker, considers marrying her American boyfriend to escape the predicament, while Esther decides to forge ahead with her life and joins a cycling excursion in Switzerland to see the mountains while she still can.
In addition to Knight, Cycling Past the Matterhorn also features Carrie Preston, Brenda Wehle, Ben Fox and Nina Jacques. The play, directed by Eleanor Holdridge, officially opened on September 29. In his Broadway.com Review of the show, William Stevenson wrote: "Deborah Grimberg's mother-daughter comedy Cycling Past the Matterhorn offers its share of funny, barbed dialogue. Breezily directed by Eleanor Holdridge, it also boasts Shirley Knight in the leading role. While the play has enjoyable moments, it could use more plot to sustain interest… Despite Cycling Past the Matterhorn's shortcomings, it does give an indication of Grimberg's knack for writing snappy dialogue. With more attention to structure, her next play should be a smoother ride."
