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FALL 2009 THEATRE PRODUCTION - TWO ONE-ACT COMEDIES

For our Fall production, Dulaney will present two one-act comedies, each about 45 minutes in length.

The first is a romatic farce, "Arrivals" by the contemporary playwright Jerome McDonough. It revolves around young love, deceptions, possessiveness, money and arrogance, with lots of wit mixed in. The comical rivalries almost get out of hand, but love conquers all (as usual).

The second play is a physical comedy, a 1900's period piece, "The Cop and the Anthem" by Marc Bucci, modeled after the short story by O.Henry, about a man who is a resident of New York City's park benches, and who is trying to get himself arrested so as to enjoy the warmth of Blackwell Island prison for the winter. His hilarious attempts to break the law lead to a surprise ending.

The plays will run for three days, the weekend before Thanksgiving break, November 19, 20, and 21 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets will go on sale during lunch shifts the week prior for $5 in advance, and will be $7 at the door for each performance.

ARRIVALS

Romantic farce. By Jerome McDonough after "The Rivals" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

Cast: 6m., 6w. Sheridan's work is too great a treasure to merely be relegated to period status. So Jerome has remolded it for young contemporary audiences. The script has been renamed and so have the characters, retaining the Sheridan-era tradition of names which suggest, often ironically, the nature of the individual. The hilariously misguided speaker, Mrs. Malaprop, becomes Lexicahna Merriam-Webster. Captain Jack Absolute (a.k.a. Ensign Bevereley) evolves into Lieutenant Peerliss Ahner and his alter-ego, Corporal Manov Skrupulls, and on and on. Many Sheridan characters have become much younger in Arrivals, a McDonough tradition. The chafing and rage which arose from generational differences in the original is refocused to the resentment and fire which results when personal control must be yielded to one only slightly older than oneself. All the rich plot elements-the deceptions to keep love alive, the lies to keep the money coming in, the self-centered arrogance which inevitably results in self-humiliation and the sacred belief that love does, indeed, conquer all still bounce everywhere dressed in a party mixture of the classic and the new. That which remains of the original play-the great percentage of the script-is a monument to Richard Brinsley Sheridan. "The other stuff," Mcdonough says, "is my fault."

THE COP AND THE ANTHEM

Comedy. From the story by O.Henry. Dramatized by Marc Bucci

Cast: 5m., 8w. O. Henry's wit and surprise are brightly displayed in this unexpected comedy about a man who is having an unusual problem with the law; he can't get himself arrested! Each year when winter starts, Lemuel T. Thwackbusher, a resident of New York's park benches, arranges a trip to his favorite winter resort, the local prison. But this year, no matter what he does, it just won't work! Lemuel commits his humorous misdemeanors and then pleads in the name of law and order that he should be locked up. It's no use. The play ends with the sort of surprise for which O. Henry is famous. Area staging.

For additional information and script samples, please go to http://books.google.com or http://dramaticpublishing.com.