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Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm –
$5, FREE for Members

Our intimate venue provides the perfect setting for an exciting and memorable night out. Caked Up Comedy features an eclectic line-up of local and traveling comics that will have you keeled over in tears

8:00pm doors, 9:00pm show
No Cover!

Your Sunday Best is our long-running, ever-evolving evening of variety comedy featuring Philly’s finest actors, stand-ups and musicians trying new things and supporting one another.

Cyrus K Stratton, De-Artis Key Curated by Gigi Lovond

The Spring Show runs through May 31 2025

May 2 – 4 The Workhouse Ward by Lady Gregory

Friday & Saturday at 7:00p & Sunday at 2:00pm

Tickets are Pay What You Will at the door

Join Plays & Players Members for a staged reading of The Workhouse Ward by Lady Gregory!

Directed by Peg Mecham

Performed by JOHN CANNON, RAY SMITH, CATHERINE MARY MORONEY

Two paupers, Mike MacInerney and Michael Miskell, both confined to their adjacent beds in a hospital ward, are bitter enemies. However when the sister of Mike MacInerney arrives and offers to take him home to work on her farm, he suggests she bring the other Michael also, as they never synchronise their periods of illness, thus she would always have an able hand. She refuses to take the two, and Mike MacInerney insists on staying with his ‘companion’. As soon as her back is turned to go out the door, they begin their bitter arguments once again

May 5th Norman David & The Eleventet Jazz

Doors 6:45pm, Sets at 7:15pm & 9:00pm
$10, good for both sets

Final Set of the 2024/2025 Season!

Monday Night Jazz is back again! Our longtime resident jazz band, Norman David and The Eleventet are back in the Skinner Studio. Come hang out and listen to some sweet jams.

May 15 – 24 PASSION Renaissance Music Theatre

Shows on Thursday – Saturday at 7:00pm

Tickets $20

Discover the power of love in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s 1994 Tony Award winning musical PASSION.
A wondrously complex landscape of the human heart is the subject of this haunting, intensely emotional chamber opera that is set in nineteenth-century, war-torn Italy. It tells of the passionate affair between a handsome army captain, separated from his beautiful mistress who is forced to re-evaluate his beliefs about love when he becomes the object of the obsessive, unrelenting passions of Fosca, his Colonel’s plain, sickly cousin.

June 3 – 29 Franklin’s Key Pig Iron Theatre Company

Showtimes & Ticket Prices Varied

The internationally acclaimed Pig Iron, an award-winning physical theater company based in Philadelphia, presents the world premiere of a new adventure imagining Ben Franklin’s legacy in an alternate universe where science and magic collide.

During the War of Independence, the British feared that Ben Franklin could control the weather. Franklin’s Key asks: what if that were true? In an alternate universe where Benjamin Franklin’s undiscovered technology has been hidden for centuries underneath Philadelphia’s landmarks, a mystery is unfolding. Two high school prodigies—Temple, a self-taught scientist, and her brother Arturo, a brilliant musician—find themselves caught in a struggle between secret societies dedicated to safeguarding Franklin’s discoveries.

3rd Floor Studio Theatre:
A flexible performance space with a repertory sound and lighting package, risers and up to 53 seats. Perfect for readings, sketch comedy, cabaret and music performances. Includes a small dressing room in the space.

Space Usage

Permitted Uses	Rehearsal, Performance, Class, Audition, Special Event, Reading, Meeting
Disciplines	Dance, Music, Theatre
Restrictions On Use	All alcohol used must be purchased through the Quig’s pub, which must be managed and staffed by Plays & Players staff personnel. All events must have a front of house staff person, provided by the renter, located in the lower lobby for the duration of the performance.

Booking Policy/How to Book

Hours Of Operation	8 am to 12 AM (After 10 pm the bar next door will be open)
Rental Policy	None specified
Cancellation Policy	All events may be canceled up to one week (7 days) of the rental.
Allows Last Minute Reservations	None specified
Booking Requirements	On site meeting, Proof of liability insurance required
Personnel Available at Time of Rental	Call for addtl rental personnel, Rates include some or all equipment
Personnel Available at Time of Performance	Call for addtl performance personnel
Payment Types	Cash, Check, Payment plan
Options	None Specified
Other Allowed Activities	Percussive footwear, Street shoes, Live percussion, Amplified music, Alcohol permitted

Features

Space Dimensions	800.0 sqft
Space Features	Column-free, Air-conditioned, Heated, Grid, Wings/backstage space, Stage curtains
Technology	WiFi
Flooring	Wood, Nonsprung wood, Marley available
Stage Configuration	Platform stage, Flexible stage, Black box, repertory is a bare floor
Stage Dimensions	20 ft x 20 ft with 10 ft ceiling
Seating Capacity	53
Seating Arrangement	Multi level, Seating risers, Flexible seating, Additional seating is available with alternate arrangements

Equipment

Lighting	Fluorescent, Light board, Lighting instruments
Furniture	Chairs, Risers, Tables
Artist Amenities	Dressing rooms, Kitchen/pantry
Instruments And Accessories	Music stands
Audio	Sound system, PA system, Microphone, MP3/auxiliary input, Amplifier
Video Film	None specified
Studio Arts	None specified

Other

Parking	Street parking
Accessibility	None specified
Audience Services	Restrooms
Miscellaneous	ATM located on-site. Bar located on-site.

Rates

For up to date rental rates please email: rentals@playsandplayers.org

This season, focusing on our vision, “seeking to cultivate a sustainable relationship between Philadelphia and its local theater artists,” Plays & Players branched out in a new way. We joined with other theater companies in the Philadelphia area to bring intelligent, inclusive and diverse plays to you through co-productions.

2015/16 PRODUCTIONS

ONE MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL (CO-PRODUCTION W/ #1MPF)

The One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) is America’s largest and longest running short form theatre company, founded by Producing Artistic Director, Dominic D’Andrea . #1MPF is a barometer project, which investigates the zeitgeist of different communities through dialogue and consensus building sessions and a performance of many moments. #1MPF works in partnership with theatres sharing playwright or community-specific missions across the country. #1MPF creates locally sourced playwright-focused community events, with the goal of promoting the spirit of radical inclusion by representing local cultures of playwrights of different age, gender, race, cultures, and points of career. The work attempts to reflect the theatrical landscape of local artistic communities by creating a dialogue between the collective conscious and the individual voice.

JUNO AND THE PAYCOCK (CO-PRODUCTION W/ IRISH HERITAGE THEATRE)

Sean O’Casey’s stunning drama, Juno and the Paycock, offers a compelling look at the family conflicts of struggling Irish matriarch Juno Boyle and her Herculean attempts to keep her children safe and her husband “Captain” Jack Boyle sober despite his foolish schemes and the ongoing troubles. When offered the chance of a lifetime, the Boyles think that life in the tenements will change completely, yet things rarely go as planned. Set in early 1920s war-torn Dublin, Juno and the Paycock is the second of the Dublin Trilogy that the Irish Heritage Theatre will produce as part of its O’Casey trilogy.

Juno and the Paycock, directed by Peggy Mecham, features an exceptional cast of returning stars and talented professional calibre actors new to the Irish Heritage Theatre stage including: Kirsten Quinn, Ethan Lipkin, John Cannon, Gina Martino, Dexter Anderson, Kevin Rodden, Angelique Bouffiou, Jim Guckin, Jackie Cohen, Thomas Robert Irvin, Carlos Forbes, and David Kuong. The Irish Heritage Theatre is fortunate enough to have as its co-producer, Plays and Players Theatre.

PLUTUS (CO-PRODUCTION W/ ONCE MORE THEATRE)

Aristophanes’ rarely-seen comedy about wealth and inequality in ancient Greece.

Plutus is a political satire of Athenian culture and mores and explores the themes of wealth and inequality. In this modern adaptation, Chremylus, a fish monger and his servant, Cario, are following a blind beggar at the suggestion of Apollo. Stunned to discover the beggar is Plutus, the god of wealth, they develop a plan to restore Plutus’ sight so that wealth can be distributed fairly and to the deserving. Poverty arrives to explain her important role in the human experience, but the citizens of Athens remain unconvinced. After Plutus regains his ability to see and riches are distributed, various characters, an honest man, an informer, a distressed girlfriend, and even Hermes arrive to explain the dire consequences that sudden wealth has brought to their lives. Zeus and Apollo appear to try and undo the mayhem that is plaguing Athens, but are thwarted by the Chorus.
Starring: Kassy Bradford, Jimmy Guckin, Carlos Forbes, Abrham Bogle, Paige Lyles-Edge, Evander Johnson, Zachary Chung Pun, David Kuong, Barbaraluz Orlanda and Nazeer L. Harper. Director Peggy Mecham.

MAME (CO-PRODUCTION W/ RENAISSANCE MUSIC THEATRE COMPANY)

She often proclaimed “Life is a banquet!” And to celebrate the 60 years she has dazzled us with her outrageous charm, Renaissance Music Theatre Company, in collaboration with Plays and Players Theatre, presents the Jerry Herman, Jerome Lawrence, Robert E. Lee musical Mame: A Musical Comedy.

Starting life as the fabled heroine of Patrick Dennis’ 1955 semi-autobiographical, runaway best seller, Auntie Mame: An Improbable Escapade, Mame Dennis has lived the high life in Lawrence and Lee’s 1956 Broadway smash, Auntie Mame, starring Rosalind Russell, and, after a two year Broadway run, Warner Brothers glittering 1958 film Auntie Mame, also starring Russell in a Golden Globe winning performance in the highest grossing film of the year. In 1966 lyricist Jerry Herman joined Lawrence and Lee for the musical Mame, starring two theatre legends, Angela Lansbury and Beatrice Arthur, enjoying a four year run and earning both ladies Tony Awards. The hit production was followed by a lavish 1974 film starring one of the reigning queens of comedy, Lucille Ball. Over the decades “Mame” has enjoyed many revivals and remains as fresh and joyous today, as the first time you heard her exuberant cry: “I’m your Auntie Mame!”

Mame will be directed, designed and choreographed by Lance Moore, founder and director of Renaissance Music Theatre Company. Mr. Moore is well known for his brilliant, revisionist productions of many Broadway classics: Kiss Me, Kate, Cabaret and A Little Night Music. The talented cast of local actors from around the Philadelphia metropolitan area will be headed by Lance Moore as Mame Dennis, Peggy Smith as Vera Charles, Patti Mengers as Lindsay Woolsey and Christine Riggio as Agnes Gooch.

AN EVENING WITH NEIL SIMON PRESENTED BY PLAYS & PLAYERS MEMBERS

From “California Suite”: In “Visitor from Philadelphia,” Marvin awakens to discover a prostitute named Bunny – an unexpected gift from his brother Harry – unconscious in his bed. With his wife Millie on her way up to the suite, he must find a way to conceal all traces of his uncharacteristic indiscretion.
Directed by: John D’Alonzo

From “Plaza Suite”: In “Visitor from Forrest Hills,” Mimsey has locked herself in the suite’s bathroom and refuses to come out for her wedding. Her parents, Roy and Norma, in a frantic state and sometimes with comic attempts, work to cajole her to come out and get married! Directed by: Peggy Connolly

Featuring some of your favorite actors including Ray Smith, Gwendolyn Rooker, Nancy Segal, Ed Miller, Audrey Serfes and more!

Photo by Daria Maidenbaum

Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney Directed by Daniel StudentOctober 17 – November 3, 2013
Plays & Players Main Stage

Starring: Janan Ashton, Andre G. Brown, Taysha Canales, Jaylene Clark, Erin Fleming, James Tolbert III and Zuhairah

Set Design by Colin McIlvaine, Costume Design by Amanda Sharp, Lighting Design by Chris Hallenbeck, Sound Design by Dan Kontz, Props Design by Danielle Ferguson, Assistant Direction by Sophie Peyton, Dramaturgy by Nell Bang-Jensen, Assistant Dramaturgy by Eric Thomas, Dialect Coaching by Melanie Julian, Stage Management by Lauren Tracy, and Assistant Stage Management by Lena Barnard

From the theater that brought you 2012’s hit production of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, came the Philadelphia premiere from the African-American playwright touted as the “next August Wilson,” Tarell Alvin McCraney. A provocative, poignant, fiercely humorous, and ultimately universal story of a “sweet” young man’s journey to discover the “secret” of who he really is and where he really came from. Days before Hurricane Katrina strikes the projects of Louisiana, the currents of his life converge, overflowing into his close-knit community and bringing three generations of characters, all named after African gods, together in the stirring conclusion of McCraney’s The Brother/Sister Plays trilogy.

Photo by Daria Maidenbaum

“It is impossible for this teenager to have a dull moment, and equally impossible for the audience of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s MARCUS, OR THE SECRET OF SWEET to be bored…. Marcus and his crew will make you think, feel, and look at “the ability of being alive” in astoundingly new ways.”

-Phindie.com

THE DISAPPEARING QUARTERBACK

A WORLD PREMIERE!

Photo by Trevor Reynolds

Written and performed by Mike Boryla Directed by Daniel StudentJanuary 16-February 2, 2014
Plays & Players Third Floor Skinner Studio

Set Design by Danielle Ferguson, Costume Design by Jill Keys, Lighting Design by Amanda Jensen, Sound Design by John Kolbinski, Projection Design by Mike Long, Animation by Emily Homrok, Stage Management by Lauren Tracy, and Assistant Stage Management by Lena Barnard

Mike Boryla was the starting quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1974-1976. He had everything he wanted. But he didn’t want what he had. Two years later, he quit professional football and… disappeared. In a World Premiere one-man show, he returned to Philadelphia for the first time in over 35 years to tell the story of walking away from the sport and the teammates, he loved. With the average life expectancy of a professional football player reported at 55, the effects of concussions becoming ever more clear, and even our president speaking out against its future, should “America’s Game”… disappear? A play for football fanatics and amateurs alike and set in the intimate Skinner Studio, The Disappearing Quarterback puts you inside the helmet of a unique athlete, a self-described “long-haired hippie,” with a passionate purpose and a story to share as he comes home to the city that made him famous.

“[A] highly enjoyable, attention-commanding world premiere at Plays and Players… a compelling, deeply human story that blends a dash of Spalding Gray, the existential quest of Beckett’s hobos, and the beauty of a tightly thrown spiral.”

-Philadelphia Inquirer

DELAWARE MUDTUB AND THE MIGHTY WAMPUM

A WORLD PREMIERE!

Order a copy of the published version of Delaware Mudtub and The Mighty Wampum

Written by Greg Romero Directed by Candace O’Neil CihockiMarch 13-30, 2014
Plays & Players Third Floor Skinner Studio

Photo by Rachel Dukeman

Starring: Andrew J. Carroll, Heather Cole, Katie Croyle, Tyler Garamella, Maria Konstantinidis, Tess McChesney Kunik and Mary Beth Shrader

Set Design by Colin McIlvaine, Lighting Design by Andrew Cowles, Costume Design by John Hodges, Sound Design by Colin McIlvaine, Props Design by Danielle Fergurson, Dramaturgy by Laurel Hostak, Puppet Design by Leila Ghaznavi, Stage Management by Angie McGuinness, and Assistant Stage Management by Lisa Sullivan

Plays & Players proudly launched a new yearly series that entertains and inspires, P.L.A.Y. (Philadelphia Local Artists for Youth)!  Written by a local playwright with a focus on original and local stories, this imaginative new program offered a theatrically immersive, interactive experience for young audiences, engaged their creativity to help build and spark each performance, sharing living stories that capture the magic all around us.  This season’s work  explored mythic animals local to the area (The Great Blue Heron, The Red Fox, The Box Turtle), people once indigenous to the Delaware River (The Lenni-Lenape), and the rituals and journeys that speak across time and species, reflected through the lens of our season theme, brothers and sisters.

Photo by Rachel Dukeman

“10 year old: It was a little hard to follow what myth they were acting out because they didn’t talk a lot. The characters were really interesting. The otters were my favorite part of the play.

8 year old: It was pretty good. It was hard to understand because they don’t say stuff much about what they are doing or who is who. 

6 year old: My favorite was the bird. I loved all the different characters. I liked when they were throwing berries in the air and eating them.”

-RealTheKitchenAndBeyond.com

SEX, DRUGS, ROCK & ROLL

Written by Eric Bogosian Performed by Eric Scotolati Directed by Allison HeishmanJune 5-21, 2014
Plays & Players Third Floor Skinner Studio

Set & Props Design by Danielle Ferguson, Lighting Design by Andrew Cowles, Sound Design by Daniel Kontz, Assistant Direction by Erlina Ortiz, Dramaturgy by Lena Barnard, and Stage Management by Lauren Tracy

Photo by Andrew Cowles

Like a hard rock track turned all the way up, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll is a hilarious, clever, and often riveting roast of the American Male. An intimate one-man show exploded on to Plays & Players’ stage, bringing to life 10 off-beat characters in a smartly profane non-stop tour de force about masculinity, capitalism, and the great American way. After a lengthy run Off-Broadway in the 1990s, Obie Award winning playwright Eric Bogosian’s “brilliant” collection of monologues was remounted with Philadelphia’s own Eric Scotolati, bringing characters from top to bottom of the eat-or-be-eaten food chain from the era of cable, wall street, and “just say no” perfectly back to life and reminding us how little things change about the larger issues that define our time.

“Constantly entertaining… in Scotolati’s hands it delivers surprises… you might wonder whether several actors had been on stage throughout.”

-Newsworks

“Nearly a quarter-century later, Bogosian’s characters – extreme, outrageous, unanimously assholes – seem as fresh and relevant as ever… Scotolati stands alone, expertly bringing every slimy, skeevy, sublimely sardonic character to life.”

-Philadelphia City Paper

Behind the scenes at the 24 Hour Play Fest
Photo credit: Daniel Student

New plays by Alisha Adams, Tommy Butler and Robin Rodriguez
Directed by Mark Kennedy, Malika Oyetimein and James Stover

Starring: Amanda Atkinson, Marci Chamberlain, Emily Gibson, Jenna Horton, Laurel Hostek, Aaron Lofton, Cathy Mostek, Iraisa Ann Reilly and Robert Stineman.

Kicking off just before the polls closed on November 6th, three original plays were created in the wake of the presidential decision.  After working through the night, the plays were produced by a full team of designers, directors and actors for two performances at 7 and 9 pm on the night of November 7th.

VOICES OF A PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES

Co-Presented by Iron Age Theatre and South Camden Theater Company
Co-Directed by Daniel Student and John Doyle

Also starring: Chuck Beishl, Richard Steven Bradford, Tina Brock, John Cannon, Marci Chamberlain, Gregory Winston Day, K.O. Delmarcelle, Tiffany Joyner, Alaina Nelson, Bill Rahill, Roderick Slocum, Peggy Smith, Daniel Student, James Tolbert III, Damien Wallace, Bob Weick, Leila Wright and Kara Zhang.

Voices brings to life the extraordinary history of ordinary people who built the movements that made the United States what it is today, ending slavery and Jim Crow, protesting war and genocide, advancing gay and women’s rights, and struggling to right wrongs of the day.

“By giving public expression to rebels, dissenters, and visionaries from our pastand present VOICES seeks to educate and inspire a new generation working for social justice.”

-New Jersey Stage

” Zinn firmly believed that in order to tell the true and complete story of America, it had to be told not only through the experiences and contributions of the famous and rich and powerful, but also through the eyes of ordinary people, particularly those who were oppressed or discriminated against, as well as dissenters, social activists and visionaries.”

-Montgomery News

THE REPUBLICAN THEATRE FESTIVAL

Produced by Forearmed Productions and Cara Blouin

Featuring: Propaganda by Mike Long, Occupy This by CJ Ehrlich, Battle Hymn by Ludmilla Bollow, 501(c) Me by David Marcus, The Abortion Bomb by Basil Considine, Home from College by Eric Balchunas, Downsizing Undercoat Man by Walt Vail, Running Amok by Quinn Eli, Eternal Flowers by Lavinia Roberts, and Volley by Hank Schwemmer

The festival featured ten plays from playwrights across the country that cover a range of topics from free speech and the Occupy Movement, to political differences within families and a conservative perspective on the American Dream, and ultimately addresses what it means to be Republican in today’s America.

“I have no qualms about the current Republican Theater Festival, especially since it may introduce some previously unheard voices to mainstream theater and I applaud it for attempting to bring infrequently heard theater viewpoints to light, even if I might not agree with them at all.  Indeed, there are two sides to every street, but all of those roads lead us to the theater, where art trumps didacticism every time, no matter the perspective.”

-Huffington Post

PRESIDENTS WHO KICK ASS

Directed by Daniel Student

Starring: Lori Felipe-Barkin, Allison Caw, Sean Close, Michael McElroy, and William Touissant

On a lighter note, Plays & Players presented its next edition of the ever-popular comedy show Superheroes who are Super! This showcase, Presidents Who Kick A$$, features three election-related stories brought to life with props, sound effects and a great mix of comedy and love for the material. This time on Superheroes, Superman needs President John F. Kennedy’s help to protect his secret identity; the first teenage president, Prez Rickards, weathers corruption and environmental disasters on the campaign trail; and Spider-Man teams up with Barack Obama to take on super-villains and the presidency.

BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON

Photo credit: Dave Sarrafian

Music and Lyrics by Michael Friedman, Book by Alex Timbers Directed by Daniel StudentJanuary 17 – February 3, 2013
Plays & Players Main Stage

Starring: Joe Sabatino, Allison Caw, Max Cove, Jamison Foreman, Billy Kametz, Sam Nagel, Kristen Norine, Brendan Norton, Corey Regensburg, Shannon Remley,  Tim Rinehart, Meggie Siegrist, and Josh Totora

Andrew Jackson was a rock and roll GOD. He rode his outsider bad-boy image and his populist movement into office with promises to reform and representing the other America. What happened next was broken promises and a Trail of Tears.  A brazen political commentary that brings history bloodily to life, and leaves no contemporary political movement, from Obama’s “Yes We Can” to the Tea Party, unscathed.

Photo credit: Dave Sarrafian

“The hilarious parallels to modern politics — Jackson promises to “take our country back” just like today’s Tea Partiers — explode in a suitably loud rock score led by music director Jamison Foreman that makes Jackson a hard-to-like but undeniably magnetic amalgamation of Bruce Springsteen and Freddie Mercury. As the title promises, blood spurts freely, but the real thrill is the contemporary deconstruction of American politics, which haven’t evolved much since 1828.”

-Philadelphia City Paper  

THE AMERICA PLAY & OTHER AMERICAN COUSINS

Photo credit: Daria Maidenbaum

By Suzan-Lori Parks (The America Play)
Other American Cousins by Quinn D. Eli and Kimmika L. H. Williams-Witherspoon
Directed by Suzana Berger (The America Play) and Malika Oyetimein (Other American Cousins) April 4-28, 2013

Plays & Players Skinner Studio

Starring: Lindsay J. Daniels, Langston Darby, Tanya O’Neill, Kirschen Wolford and Steven Wright

From Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks came a remarkable story of an African-American man who looks just like Abraham Lincoln and can be shot by would-be John Wilkes Booths for a small fee. When he disappears into the “great hole in history,” his wife and son go to find him. Questions of race, family, legacy, and the act of theater itself play out in a surprising and emotionally stunning journey.

World premiere short plays, Other American Cousins, named for the play President Lincoln was watching when he was shot, examined American’s place in today’s world and served as a prologue to The America Play.

“Parks’s script is rich in symbolism and metaphor, sending up the idea of the great man of history and questioning our historical memory. Wright portrays a presidential reenactor with suitable nobility and derision, and each cast member turns in a moving performance.”

-Phindie.com

A World Premiere
Written by David Strattan White
Directed by Cara Blouin
November 4-21
Plays & Players Skinner Studio

Starring: Ken Sandberg, Johanna Dunphy, Angela Smith, Langston Darby and Dan Higbee

Sue’s boyfriend is drunk and high. Betty’s is a Sim. Both want to make a man out of the one they love. In local playwright’s David Strattan White’s witty world premiere Simulations, these two friends and the guys they’ve given their hearts to break the boundaries of the real and digital worlds to take control of their romantic destinies — and realize that whether playing the game or getting played, love isn’t all hearts over your head and dips in the hot tub.

A NEW BRAIN

Photo credit: Joe Glodek

Book, Music, & Lyrics by William Finn Directed by Daniel Student January 13-30

Plays & Players Skinner Studio

Starring: Brendan Norton, Dan Plehal, Grace Field, Joe Sabatino, Robert Cutler, Sara Schmuckler, Eric Longo, Jason Stockdale, Jennifer Hutten, and Susan Ilene Johnson.

From from the man who wrote The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, this semi-autobiographical musical journey follows Gordon Schwinn through his diagnosis and treatment of a seemingly terminal defect in his brain. Schwinn’s greatest fear is dying with his best songs still inside him, so he works day and night from his hospital bed to get them all out while struggling to maintain relationships with his life partner Roger, his mother, and his best friend and agent Rhoda. Premiering off-Broadway to rave reviews over a decade ago, P&P was proud to introduce Philadelphia theater-goers and musical-lovers to a harrowing yet heartwarming tale about the healing power of art.

Photo credit: Joe Glodek

“A New Brain isn’t an easy show to perform… it’s about a man who collapses and undergoes brain surgery. Even more so, because it involves dark scenes that take place within the man’s tormented mind. That’s why the recent Plays and Players production was so impressive… The cast is exceptionally talented albeit largely unknown.  Even the smaller roles are sung gorgeously.”

-Broad Street Review

“A New Brain at Plays & Players is a rare thing: sophisticated contemporary musical theater that’s also a feel-good, chock-full-of-songs show. With a wildly talented cast under Daniel Student’s imaginative direction, this show is not to be missed.”

-Philadelphia Inquirer

“Director Daniel Student and musical director Melissa Dunphy’s charming, low-budget production superbly brings Gordon’s hopes and fears to life in an intimate audience-on-stage configuration on the P&P main stage — their only miscalculation, since they’ll clearly need more seats.”

-Philadelphia City Paper

LOST IN YONKERS

Photo credit: Kyle Ober

Written by Neil Simon Directed by Betty Chomentowski June 2-19

Plays & Players Skinner Studio

Starring: Gavin Becker, Angela Carolfi, Jim Ludovici, Catherine Maroney, Helen McCrane, Jordan Mottram, and Ryan Ruggles

Photo credit: Kyle Ober

Neil Simon’s touching story–and Pulitzer Prize-winning play–of an eccentric New York family in crisis in the summer of 1942. On the run from a loan shark, a frightened and weak-willed father leaves his two teenage boys, Jay and Arty, with their domineering grandmother, who runs a candy store in Yonkers. The effect of the old woman’s tyranny over two generations of offspring becomes evident as she coldheartedly attempts to control not only their lives but also that of her mentally challenged middle-aged daughter, Bella, who desperately yearns for love and independence. The boys are forced to live by their stern grandmother’s rules until their gangster uncle, Louie, comes to town one night and goes into hiding in the family home. Uncle Louie ends up helping both the boys and Bella understand their aging grandmother and realize the importance of acceptance and love, despite the hardship of life in Yonkers.

“Plays & Players’ production of Lost in Yonkers, Neil Simon’s 1991 Pulitzer-winner, is a textured and moving family drama… Director Betty Chomentowski catches just the right tone – the play’s human charm and a grim nostalgia for some bad old days. Despite Simon’s reputation as a Mr. Broadway, his play is well served by this tiny intimate space, making us part of the family.”

-Philadelphia Inquirer

“Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers has a lot of hype to live up to … but as its opening night proved, the Plays and Players cast was up to the task of filling some dauntingly big shoes.”

-Philadelphia City Paper

“Angela Carolfi in a breathtaking performance as Bella, the mentally unstable yet charming female star, and Helen McCrane’s equally superb portrayal of her tired and nasty mother, the Plays & Players production expertly navigates the journey of one young woman from denial and anger to forgiveness and healing… the strong cast and intimate setting of Plays & Players’ 99-year-old theater creates the perfect boiler room for the challenging yet ultimately redemptive confrontations between the grandmother and the next generation.“

-Broad Street Review

Theater Centric Opportunities Panel

There will be a panel of lady artists following the performance announcing exciting female-centric opportunities coming up in the next 6 months. We will open up the floor for discussion about where we go from here and opportunities we think we still need to create.

Moderator: Claire Moyer
Panelists: Corinna Burns, Polly Edelstein, Liz Filios, Sarah Stearns , Allison Heishman, Cheryl Williams, Meredith Laboon, Elaina Di Monaco, and Mz Fest 2015 Leaders

PRE-SHOW EVENT @ 6PM: 
Reading of I Dream Before I Take The Stand by Arlene Hutton
In this twenty-minute one-act play, a defense lawyer cross-examines a woman during her testimony in a sexual assault case—and in doing so, horribly distorts her perfectly innocent walk in the park. The play was called “a new feminist classic” when it premiered in Edinburgh in 1995.

Featuring: Karina Balfour and Matt Dell’Olio

THURSDAY, 4/2 @ 8PM: TAKE / SACRIFICE
BY KALEID THEATRE

Making Sounds with Regular Folks: A Vocal Workshop with Gina Purri, Kaleid’s Composer Come shake off your workaday cares and indulge in some fun and freeing musical games.  No experience or instruments necessary – just bring yourself and your willingness to be playful!  Led by Gina Purri, Take/Sacrifice’s composer & musical director.

WORKSHOP LEADER BIO:

Gina is a Philadelphia-area teacher, composer, workshop leader, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. She believes that to be human is to be musical: everyone has equal access to the joy and connection that music provides. She is currently teaching a private studio of around 15 students, aged 4 to 73 years; working as the composer and music director for Take/Sacrifice; singing with the Philadelphia Singers; developing vocal empowerment workshops; and creating music educational videos to be released as web content. Find her at shamelessmusiclessons.com. Ladies Night Poker, in Quig’s Pub In support of Mz. Fest, Free Poker Night is sponsoring a special game. Women will be seated first up to the usual 11 seats limit, with all other players — of any description — welcomed to join the alternates list as usual, first come first listed. Seating will be by order of arrival, with the start time determined by the end of that night’s performance of Take/Sacrifice.
Your co-dealers will be Franklin Evans and Kevin Rodden. Blind schedule and other details to be provided via updates here. There will be a special first prize. WANT TO JOIN?  CLICK HERE AND POST ON THE FACEBOOK EVENT TO GET IN! 

FRIDAY, 4/3 @ 8PM: THE SECRET LIFE OF WONDER: A PROLOGUE IN G
BY TS HAWKINS

Poetry Workshop:“Putting Your Poetic Thoughts in Rhythmic Motion”, with TS Hawkins and Sam King TS Hawkins and Sam King have teamed up to help the community become composers of their own journey. In this workshop, participants will venture through their poetic thoughts with TS then receive one-on-one time with Sam to arrange their poetry to music! As a bonus, participants will have an opportunity to record a snippet of their fresh new work.

WORKSHOP LEADER BIOS:
TS Hawkins is an international author, performance poet and an artist of many trades. Her newest work, The Secret Life of Wonder: a prologue in G, is debuting at Plays & Players during Mz. Fest. Publications: Sugar Lumps and Black Eye Blues (2006), Confectionately, Yours (2007), Mahogany Nectar (2009), Lil Blaek Book: all the long stories short(2011), The Hotel Haikus (2012). Off Broadway credits: Seeking Silence (2011), Cartons of Ultrasounds (2012). Short works: Too Late To Apologize (2013). For more detailed information, visit www.tspoetics.com

Samantha King is an alternative/rock guitarist/composer and actress from Philadelphia. She teaches guitar and is a backup guitarist for “Ang & The Damn Band” who has opened for “Pizza Underground” and “Sasquatch and the Sick-A-Billys”. Currently, she is living in New York, networking, writing original music with other musicians and taking acting classes at the Barrow Group School in Manhattan.

SATURDAY, 4/4 @9PM:  ALL 3 SHOWS

Miss Appropriation, an Improv Group Featuring:  Sarah Clemency, Wendy Lenhart, Cynthia Marie, Meredith McDonald, Mallory Rhodes, and Elizabeth Samti POST-SHOW EVENT @ MIDNIGHT: 
Festival Dance Party, Featuring DJ Intense (from Synergy Sound & Entertainment)

SUNDAY, 4/5 @ 2PM:  ALL 3 SHOWS

POST-SHOW EVENT @ 5:15PM:  Stretchmarks the Spot presents CHURCH Join us on Easter Sunday, April 5th for an exciting night of worship, celebration and fellowship in female comedy. Featuring Father Elise Thomson-Hohl, The Holy Ghost, Children’s Director Reverend Caitlin Feeney, Jewish People, Deacon Kate Banford, The Devil and a singing Gospel Choir. ABOUT STETCHMARKS THE SPOT: Caitlin Feeney, Elise Thomson-Hohl and Kate Banford are ‘Stretchmarks the Spot’. Together, they have been writing and performing since early 2014 after performing stand-up in Philadelphia and genuinely enjoying each other as people. They’re best friends! Their style of sketch comedy is hilariously offbeat and unpredictable, you can call them “The Bad Boys of Comedy” because other people have and it’s cool to follow trends. SLAM. Competition, a friendly competition of Theatre-in-Creation SLAM. is a live theatre game where playwrights face off in a 5-minute battle-of-the-plays. Playwrights show new work within a timed setting, are assigned actors, and are judged by industry professionals and their peers. The Winner’s prize? A free evening in the Plays and Players 3rd Floor Skinner Studio to showcase the SLAM. Champion’s piece. CLICK HERE to join the Facebook Event! POST-SHOW EVENT @ MIDNIGHT:  A Bluegrass Band founded by Cindy Spitko & Ed Swidey, with new members Kevin Chick, Josh Totora, and Jake Blouch. CLICK HERE to check them out on Facebook!

Stephen Spielberg’s Jaws was shot on location at Martha’s Vineyard, MA in 1974.  It was a legendarily disastrous production that resulted in one of the greatest movies of all time and an unprecedented financial success. Devised by Philadelphia theatre artists Robert Daponte, Mary Tuomanen, and Sam Henderson, the Jaws Project is a wicked rude comedy, an unlikely love story, and an unflinching examination of a turning point in American culture.

ReVamp Collective co-producer Twelve Chairs, Nov 9 to 19 2016
By John O’Hara

Join ReVamp Collective for this unique production as 6 women directors and 12 women actors explore playwright John O’Hara’s time-spanning look at the close, complex and ultimately compassionate relationship between mother and daughter.

Rainbow Bar and Grill, Plays & Players produced, Jan 14 to Jan 28 2017
By Bruce Graham

The world is coming to an end. You have one day left. What do you do?

This is the question tackled by Philadelphia playwright, Bruce Graham’s apocalyptic comedy/drama. Forget mass hysteria and anarchy in the streets. If your name is Shep and you tend bar in a small Pennsylvanian town, it’s one last day of business as the play zeroes in on a group of strangely upbeat small town folk who are coming to grips with their impending doom.

A Feminine Ending co-producer Rachel Diamond, Jan 31 2017 to Feb 5
by Sarah Treem

Having recently graduated from a major conservatory, and with a rocker boyfriend on the brink of stardom, aspiring composer Amanda Blue’s “extraordinary life” seems to be all mapped out.  But when she’s called home to answer her mother’s distress call about a [marriage in crisis/marital crisis], Amanda’s grand plan starts to unravel.  A Feminine Ending is a bittersweet new play about dreams deferred, loves lost and learning to trust a woman’s voice in a man’s world.

ReVamp Collective co-producer for Jimmy Gorski is Dead March 14 to 25 2017, April 12, 2017 to April 22 2017
by Kristen M. Scatton

Jimmy Gorski, a young man with a bright future, dies of a heroin overdose. Now, those closest to him – his brother, his best friend, and his girlfriend – must confront their feelings about him, each other, and their own roles in the tragedy. Time shifts, accusations fly, and secrets are revealed in this world premiere about who and what defines a life, set against the backdrop of America’s opioid epidemic.

Plays & Players and Scott Rodrique “The Fever“
By Wallace Shawn

As a political prisoner is executed, a privileged liberal artist awakens, wracked with nausea and afflicted by questions he can no longer ignore. Winner of the 1991 Obie Award for Best Play, this blistering monologue sets wry and quirky humor against searing self-scrutiny. What is the extent of our accountability, and how do we reconcile our desire to celebrate life with the world’s perpetuation of social injustice, disparity of wealth, and our own government’s abhorrent foreign policy?

Plays & Players with The Irish Heritage Theatre “Making History,” May 25th to June 10th 2017
By Brian Friel

Powerful historical forces determine the destinies of Hugh O’Neill, the Earl of Tyrone and Red Hugh O’Donnell before and after the battle of Kinsale in Brian Friel’s Making History. Although a love match, O’Neill’s personal life is complicated by his marriage to an English wife, Mabel Bagenal, the daughter of his enemy. O’Neill forges an Irish and Spanish alliance to drive the English out of Ireland while Peter Lombard, Archbishop of Armagh, is raising questions while writing a history of O’Neill’s life. Is history true? Should it be? Find out in this compelling production of Friel’s rarely produced masterpiece.

First, a historic 290 seat proscenium theatre with ornate decoration, beautiful oil tapestries and a full sound and lighting package. Includes dressing rooms for 13, full access to fly system and other equipment. It is situated on the ground floor — restrooms and dressing rooms are on the lower level, and unfortunately there is no elevator access (yet!)

FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON RENTING THE MAIN STAGE, CLICK HERE!

Second,  a flexible black box studio with a repertory sound and lighting package, risers and up to 65 seats. Perfect for readings, sketch comedy, cabaret and music performances. Includes a small dressing room in the space. It is located on the third floor, and unfortunately there is no elevator access.

FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION ON RENTING THE SKINNER STUDIO, CLICK HERE!

To see each space and the Plays & Players Theatre building, CLICK HERE.

Both spaces tend to book months in advance, so please be cognizant and try to plan ahead. Plays & Players Members do receive preference for the black box studio usage.

WANT TO INQUIRE? EMAIL PLAYS AND PLAYERS BY CLICKING HERE!

Our Rentals Contact is Steve Wei. Feel free to email them at rentals@playsandplayers.org with “YOUR NAME – Rental Inquiry” in the subject line and include as many details about your project as possible, including the space you are interested in (studio or mainstage), and the time frame you are looking for.