At a glance
Jaimie Schwartz, 60, plays 60-yearold Bruce.
“Bruce is a damaged human being, bordering on a recluse, who spends more time home alone after suffering significant tragedy. It’s made him sarcastic and hostile,” Schwartz said.
Although he enjoys playing curmudgeons, Schwartz aims to make Bruce understandable.
“It’s a challenge to humanize him, but Cory has given him a heart underneath his exterior. There’s a flower of a human being, hidden for a long time, that blossoms from exposure to the currents of a powerful new friendship,” Schwartz said.
When Bruce meets Alex (Jeff White), he’s especially mystified by Alex’s faith.
“Bruce, who rejected Christianity early on, faces an existential crisis about how a gay man can be a Christian,” Schwartz said. “Alex has wisdom beyond Bruce, so he learns from someone he has no expectation of learning anything from.”
Will the drama inspire people to change?
Rounding out the 12-member cast are five men and five women playing multiple roles, revealing wider-world turmoil as the men navigate their differences.
“It’s almost a play-within-the-play as the two men meet throughout four seasons. You see flashbacks, violent incidents, a mob of disenfranchised and angry people, a young woman who just moved into the neighborhood and two neighbors who don’t want her there,”
Skurdal said.
Ultimately, Skurdal believes his drama may inspire theatergoers to reexamine their lives, including rejecting extreme conflicts and rethinking relationships cut short because of politics or religion.
“I hope people will say: ‘I can do better.’ ... We don’t have to treat people as ‘others.’ We can be welcoming, kind and open,” he said. “We need more of that in this country.” mgrossberg1@gmail.com @mgrossberg1