Comedy/Drama. Douglas Carter Beane. 3 men, 3 women (flexible casting). Unit set Evan Wrier has just finished a photo session with his shirt off.
No, he's not a supermodel; he's a twenty-something New York writer
savoring the success of his debut novel. Defined by the media as
the "hotyoung"
thing-of-the-moment, Evan captures the attention of Alexa Vere de
Vere, a black-dad woman of mystery who's made the world of celebrity
her home. In fact, it's her religion. Maybe she's a record producer,
maybe she's a film agent; what is dear is that she wants Evan to
write the screenplay of her life story. Just spend time with me,
she says, and you'll learn all you need to know. To Evan, who is
gày, it's like an invitation into the world of Auntie Maine,
Sally Bowles and Holly Golightly all rolled into one. But once Evan
fools himself into believing he loves Alexa, she vanishes, leaving
him to foot the bill for all the dinners and Armani suits they've
gone through. Trying to find Alexa, Evan discovers a chain of people
who have fallen under her spell and acted as her meal ticket. For
Alexa has no money, no job, no life of her own - only the one she's
created for herself. As Alexa puts it: "You're not the person you
were born - who wonderful is?" Play. Larry Ketron. 3 men, 3 women. Interior. Home on leave before shipping off to Vietnam, two young recruits
have been given the use of a lakeside cabin by a prosperous local
farmer. Disturbed by the mixed reception given them by some of the
townspeople (for whom the U.S. involvement in Vietnam is very much
a debatable issue) they hole up in the cottage with two local girls,
friends from high school days, as constant companions. Their intention
is to spend their time partying and "making out," but the spectre
of what awaits them is never out of mind, and when their benefactor
announces that he has "connections" which will make it possible to
have them reassigned to duty in California they are cautiously hopeful.
But the inevitable, in the end, cannot be avoided: their girlfriends
are hesitant to become seriously involved with young men in their
unpredictable situation, and their pätron's influence proves
to be less than he claimed. When their leave is over they ship out,
one to die in combat, the other to return home sobered and saddened
by his experiences but, as the play ends, hopeful of picking up the
pieces of his life and making a fresh start.
A Comedy of Terrors. Jerome Weidman. 1 man, 2 women. Interior. To the neighbours Seymour Haber appears to be an exemplary son.
Never a Sunday goes by without his dutifully trekking from his luxury
apartment in Manhattan to his mother's shabby flat in Queens to spend
the morning. Actually Seymour's purpose is not as filial as it might
appear. His mother is a drain on the budget, a threat to Seymour's
shaky (and wealthy) marriage, and a general millstone who has long
since outlived her usefulness. So Seymour devises a number of hilariously
diabolic ways to convince her that her faculties have deteriorated
to the point where her demise would be a service to all. One other
minor problem is that Sunday morning is also the time of Seymour's
weekly extramarital assignation at the Plaza Hotel, a fact of which
he believes his mother to be ignorant - which, of course, she isri
t. However; Mrs. Haber takes a step toward independence by advertising
a room for rent, and the tenant who drops in to take it proves to
be Griselda, an English beauty who, it turns out, is also a high-priced
call girl of international repute. Suddenly Seymour's two Sunday
worlds collide as he fords mother's digs more appealing than the
Plaza! Needless to say Mrs. Haber's well-honed instincts for survival
respond to this, and while the panting Seymour is rewarded he must
pay a price. From now on, his Sunday visits will be something more
than a duty - and mother's discretion now outvalues her demise. Which,
in a bizarre way, means that things have worked out as they should
have all along - and as they usually do. Paul Kember : Comedy 6M 2F Flexible staging The latest play from the award-winning author of Not Quite Jerusalem is
set in the grounds of a decaying Victorian lunatic asylum scheduled
for prompt demolition to provide housing. A second-rate film crew
have arrived to make a promotional video for a would-be hit single,
but events are complicated by the appearance of Tilly, a former patient
who has been released into 'community care'. It quickly becomes clear
that her visit is more than just a social call, and the film crew,
hospital staff and patients are thrown into chaos by the events which
follow. An endearing play, one which tackles the serious issues of
mental health, housing and the darker side of the film industry while
remaining a heartwarming comedy and a thoroughly entertaining evening. Farcical Comedy. Vernon Sylvaine John Bentley is concerned about the hysterical and artistic gyrations
of his three irresponsible daughters and their husbands. John enlists
the help of the German psychiatrist, Schneider, but his troubles
multiply. Schneider suggests that John would soon cure his family
if he were to give them a taste of their own medicine. When John
adopts the same artistic flightiness, his children are first outraged,
then sheepishly aware that it is time they grew up. Play.
David Rudkin First seen at the Open Space Theatre in 1974, this is a sensitive
study of a childless couple and the various indignities they have
to endure in the search to find out why they are childless after
two years of trying for a family. Filled with much wry humour this
is a delicate treatment of a difficult subject and as such is suitable
for advanced societies, University and College groups. Play. Shirley Gee A moving play, first seen at Hampstead, showing the plight of women workers in the rag trade, separated by almost 150 years but still sharing a tragic fate. In a split setting we see the Victorian cottage where the lace-makers work in appalling conditions and also the modern-day sweat shop where goods are made on piece work. Times have not changed much - everyone must still keep up or face the sack. Comedy of Letters. Adapted by
Michael Redgrave from the story by Henry James Henry Jarvis, a scholar, fanatical about the work of the late Jeffrey
Aspern, pursues his quest to own Aspern's letters with single-minded
determination: not even romance can stand in his way ... Michael
Redgrave's masterly adaptation of Henry James' classic novel captures
all the irony and charm of the original. Period 1890 |