New Haven Register (Sunday) (New Haven, CT)
Week of premier local premieres
Area theaters showcase greasers, a robot, ‘Lies’ and a Faustian bargain
“This story compels us to reflect on the choices we’ve made and ... those we’ve yet to make.” Trevor Williams, director, ‘Marjorie Prime’ at NHTC
You can learn a lot about local theater troupes starting Thursday, when three of them premiere their latest productions in Hamden, New Haven and Stratford.
They’re not as professional or polished as Long Wharf or Yale Rep or a national touring production, but the actors, directors and crew share a love for theater that’s contagious when they get it right.
What’s your preference? A coming-ofage drama, an end-of-life story with a robot companion? Or something in between, such as a comedy sparked by a mother’s intuition about her son’s marital trouble? We’ll even throw in a fourth, collegiate, production as a bonus: Starting Tuesday, a New Haven university troupe will perform its version of an Elizabethan tragedy by Christopher Marlowe.
Venue and location may influence your choice, but you could take a week or two and see all four. Here’s a look at the local offerings:
‘The Outsiders’ in Hamden
Cindy Simell-Devoe directs her Whitney Players Theater Company in the stage version of “The Outsiders” — which some will recall as a 1983 movie with C. Thomas Howell and Ralph Macchio.
With performers from the HamdenNorth Haven area, the play tells the story of youthful choices and violence between two groups in rural Oklahoma — the Greasers (some would call them “at-risk youth” these days) and the Socials, or
Socs, who are the privileged rich kids.
Greasers Ponyboy and Johnny get into a brawl that ends up taking the life of a Social; they go into hiding and, with the intense Dallas, have to decide whether to seek redemption or continue fighting.
The play will run through March 3 at the Thornton Wilder Auditorium (2901 Dixwell Ave.) in Hamden. Performances Thursday through Saturday begin at 7 p.m. and there is a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Cash or checks only or online at thewhitneyplayers.org.
‘Marjorie Prime’ at NHTC
New Haven Theater Company shows are fun because you get to wander around at the cool secondhand store fronting the theater in the English Building Markets building (139 Chapel St., New Haven) before you settle into the small theater space at the rear for an intimate play.
And it’s a pretty good company of theater veterans (some of whom work at Long Wharf). Their new effort is “Marjorie Prime,” a brisk story of an elderly woman’s failing health and memory spiced by the presence of a robot “prime,” an artificial intelligence programmed to mimic a younger version of her dead husband. Yes, it’s set in the near future, when “Alexa” morphs into something more humanlooking.
Marjorie’s middle-aged daughter and son-in-law are the audience’s viewpoint, though, choosing memories to implant on the AI version of hubby Walter (fashioned to look like him at age 30), debating the prime’s worth and revealing family secrets. Can the robot help the woman retain her identity? Can such devices turn into a continuing interaction when loved ones depart?
In a news release on the show, director Trevor Williams said, “Jordan Harrison’s play doesn’t just explore the decline of aging and coping with death in a constantly evolving world. It shows us what happens when we choose what facts to record, in our digital lives or in the stories we tell each other. Now, when truth and what it means to be human are all becoming so mutable, for better or worse, this story compels us to reflect on the choices we’ve made and, perhaps, those we’ve yet to make.”
In the key roles of the play, which premiered in Los Angeles in 2014, will be company members Margaret Mann and Susan Kulp, joined by guest artists Ryan Hendrickson and Marty Tucker. There also was a film adaptation that premiered at Sundance Film Festival in 2017.
Tickets ($20) can be purchased at newhaventheatercompany.com. The play will have six performances
through March 9.
‘Clever Little Lies’ in Stratford
Square One Theatre Company features another local cast in “Clever Little Lies,” a comedy of sex, love and secrets by playwright Joe DiPietro, who wrote “The Second Mrs. Wilson” that debuted at Long Wharf Theatre. Including its opening night Thursday, the play will have 10 performances weekends through March 17.
Directed by Tom Holehan (Stratford), the play will feature two familiar actors of Square One audiences — Peggy Nelson of Hamden and Peter Wood of Stratford — plus two newcomers, Paulo Araujo of Norwalk and Josie Kulp of North Haven (daughter of Susan Kulp of the NHTC show), making their debuts with Square One.
In this shattering but funny play, mother Alice (Peggy Nelson) notices her beloved husband, Bill (Peter Wood), has returned home on edge after a tennis match with their son. Determined to piece together the puzzle, she invites her son, Billy Jr. (Paulo Araujo), and daughterin-law, Jane (Josie Kulp), over for drinks and dessert. Wisecracks and chaos ensue as Alice digs for the truth, resulting in a plate-load of honesty. One reviewer of the Off-Broadway version in 2016 called it “comfort food” and a “throwback to Broadway comedies of the 1960s.”
Playwright Di-Pietro, by the way, who has two Tony Awards, wrote “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change.”
The play can be seen at the troupe’s equally intimate home theater, a 64-seat, black box space at Stratford Academy (719 Birdseye St.) Thursday and then Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets ($22 adult, $20 seniors and students) are at squareonetheatre.com or 203-3758778.
‘Dr. Faustus’ at SCSU
The Crescent Players at Southern Connecticut State University will present “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe Tuesday through Saturday at the Lyman Center for Performing Arts main stage.
The Elizabethan tragedy, based on German stories about the title character Faust, will be directed by Rebecca Goodheart, producing artistic director of Elm Shakespeare Company in New Haven. Faustus is the most respected student in the world, but his ambition to know more and do more combine with his own fears and self-criticism to ruin it all, notes an SCSU release.
There will be an opening-night gala and “talkback” discussion with professors Michael Shea and Joel Dodson from the SCSU English Department after the 8 p.m. performance, a Crescent spokeswoman said. Professor Dodson is SCSU’s resident Marlowe scholar. Shows are 8 p.m. nightly with an additional 2 p.m. matinee Saturday. Tickets are $15, $10 for faculty/staff and $5 students, at 203-392-6154 or bitly.com/SCSUFaustus.
What’s your preference? A coming-of-age drama, an end-of-life story with a robot companion? Or something in between, such as a comedy sparked by a mother worried about her son’s marriage?