Summertime lull
The cast of The Cripple of Inishmaan, performed at Curio Theatre Company.
Well, we’ve reached that point in the theater season where things are slowing down. All the theater seasons are coming to a close, and the summer stock hasn’t begun, yet. PlayPenn is doing its reading series in mid-to-late July, ditto for Orbiter 3’s next show, and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival will also be starting shortly, but right now, there’s not a lot. Having said that, there are a couple of things I want to point out.
First, the penultimate reading at the Drake’s reading series is tonight: Two-Fisted Tales from the Four-Color City by Jack Tamburri. Sadly, I can’t make it there, myself, and I’m more than a little cheesed about that. Not only does the promotional email correctly use the word “penultimate,” but the play involves superheroes, features the wonderful actor Melanye Finister, and is directed by the lovely and enigmatic Maura Krause of Orbiter 3 fame. And then there’s that kick-ass title to contend with. I do love a kick-ass title.
Second, if you’re a fan of community theater, the Colonial Playhouse is currently performing its annual Colonial Quickies, which is a series of short plays written by local blokes, including my colleagues, Alex Dremann and David Robson. Also, Sam Barrett (of the “living room readings” fame) is directing, so it will be a good time.
The only thing I’ve seen in the past couple of weeks was a powerful production of The Cripple of Inishmaan at Curio Theatre Company. Aurora and I caught the very last performance, so I was in no hurry to post about it, seeing as it had no advertising value for the company. But I bother to mention it now, in the hopes that people will make an effort to catch their next season. Martin McDonagh is a tough playwright to produce, requiring just the right combination of tragic despair and unsettling hilarity, and Curio hit it out of the park. Special shout-out to Actor Peggy Smith, who performed in one of plays a few years ago.