Category: Uncategorized

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

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

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.

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

Posted by admin on Sunday, December 6, 2015 · Leave a Comment 

The cast and crew had a great time with Juno. Don’t miss our productions!

Players are theatre artists and enthusiasts of all kinds. Membership gives them the opportunity to come together, share ideas, support and discuss individual projects, and make friends with other local, creative minds. Players members receive our Members Only Access Package.

The Members Only Access Package contains Rehearsal/Reading/Meeting space in the Melissa Lynch Memorial Library; Discounts on rental of the Skinner Studio for performances; Access to Quig’s Pub every night including events like Thursday Poker Night; Monthly Friday Happy Hour with Food and Drink Specials from 5 to 7pm; Artist Co-Op classes and readings (give one and get one); Audition notices and the monthly newsletter with all listed events in the theaters. Also look for specials like a % off tickets to the P&P shows and co-productions; discounts for parking, restaurants and more. Plays & Players also hosts our monthly Tuesday Night reading series – submit your manuscript!

Torchbearers Membership

Torchbearers are the active supporting members of the theatre. Torchbearers come to all the productions, sometimes participating in them as the cast and crew. Many volunteer for box office, ushering, pre & post show party planning – whatever needs to be done to make the show go on.

In addition to the Members Only Access Package (listed below) Torchbearers also receive: one FREE ticket to each P&P production & one 50% OFF companion ticket; one discounted ticket to each P&P co-production; an invitation to the opening receptions; a listing in our programs as one of our Torchbearers and a thank you letter acknowledging $50 as a tax deductible contribution to a certified non-profit organization.

The Members Only Access Package contains: Rehearsal/Reading/Meeting space in the Melissa Lynch Memorial Library; Discounts on rental of the Skinner Studio for performances; Access to Quig’s Pub every night including events like Thursday Poker Night; Monthly Friday Happy Hour with Food and Drink Specials from 5 to 7pm; Artist Co-Op classes and readings (give one and get one); Audition notices and the monthly newsletter with all listed events in the theaters. Plus our Monthly Tuesday Night Reading Series – submit your manuscript!

You receive all the same goodies as other members, as well as the opportunity for your voice to be heard during the Annual Membership Meeting votes!

Cornerstone Membership

A Cornerstone Member is a lover of timeless beauty in architecture. Cornerstones are interested in restoring Plays & Players Theatre with its Historically Certified Building Facade so that it remains a vibrant functioning building for another hundred years. In addition to the Members Only Access Package (listed below) Cornerstone Members also receive: An invitation to be part of the P&P Historic Preservation Committee, contributing expertise to the ongoing projects & receiving updates on the proposed building renovations; Recognition on the P&P website and a listing in our programs as a Cornerstone Member; a thank you letter indicating your tax deductible contribution of $200 to P&P’s Historic Preservation Fund.

The Members Only Access Package contains:
Rehearsal/Reading/Meeting space in the Melissa Lynch Memorial Library; Discounts on rental of the Skinner Studio for performances; Access to Quig’s Pub every night including events like Thursday Poker Night; Monthly Friday Happy Hour with Food and Drink Specials from 5 to 7pm; Artist Co-Op classes and readings (give one and get one); Audition notices and the monthly newsletter with all listed events in the theaters.

BECOME A MEMBER NOW! 

Driving Directions

CLICK HERE to see where Plays & Players Theatre is located!

From New Jersey/Ben Franklin Bridge:
From the Ben Franklin Bridge, follow signs to 676 West/Vine St Expressway. Make a left on 17th Street. Main entrance to the theater can be accessed on Delancey Place from 17th street by taking a right on Lombard Street (one block south of Pine Street), right on 18th Street and another right on Delancey Place (essentially making a U-turn from 17th St).

From Points West:
Take 76 East to 676 East (left exit). Take 676 East to the Broad/15th Street Exit. Make a right onto 15th Street (going south). Make a right on Lombard Street (one block south of Pine Street), another right on 18th, and a final right on Delancey Place.

From Points North:
Take 95 South to 676 West. Follow directions from New Jersey/Ben Franklin Bridge above.

From Points South:
Take 95 North to 676 West. Follow directions from New Jersey/Ben Franklin Bridge above.

Public Transportation

Subway:

From the Walnut-Locust Station on the Broad Street Line the theater is a 10-min walk. Head west on Walnut Street and then south on 17th street. Delancey Place will be on the right-hand side, just past Spruce Street.

From the 15th & Market Station on the Market-Frankford Line riders can get a free transfer to the Broad Street Line or take a 15-min walk to the Plays and Players Theater (see map above).

Regional Rail: All Septa Regional Rail Lines stop at Suburban Station, where riders can transfer to the nearby Broad Street Line at City Hall Station or take the 15-minute walk to the Plays and Players Theater (see map above).

Riders can also take the PATCO and get off at the 15th-16th St Station on Locust Street and take a 10-min walk.

Bus:
Riders can take any bus to Market Street and get off anywhere between Spruce and Pine and take a short walk west to the Plays and Players Theater.

For further information please contact Plays and Players Theater directly via phone at (215) 735-0630 or via email at mail@playsandplayers.org.

When Private Malcolm Jack goes AWOL from serving in Iraq, he discovers there are a lot safer places to hide than in the body of a 13-year-old girl. Her novelist mother enlists the biggest bombshell in her pulp fiction arsenal to seduce him out, but it will take more imagination than that to end the occupation in this dark and twisted farce spearing sex, gender, and invasion from Philadelphia’s own Joy Cutler.

“So here’s a real surprise: On the third floor of Plays and Players Theatre, there’s a world premiere by an under-the-radar local playwright — Joy Cutler — filled with amateur actors, directed by a relative newcomer. All outward signs indicate a hot mess; instead, it’s a blast. With Cutler’s pen, Blouin’s eye, the all-out cast of pros (amateur or not) and Lance Kniskern, whose red-walled, askew-angled set prepares us for Cutler’s off-kilter tone while hiding a few secrets of its own, this production runs like a well-oiled military machine. In a fall season loaded with heavy themes and full-frontal realism, Plays and Players’ left-field entry is a welcome respite, and a sneaky contender.”

Photo credit: Drew Hood, Throwing Light Photography

Written by August Wilson Directed by Daniel Student January 19 – February 4 2012

Plays & Players Mainstage

Starring: Mle Chester, Jamal Douglas, Kash Goins, Brett Gray, Cherie Jazmyn, Lauryn Simone-Jones, Erin Stewart, Candace Thomas, James Tolbert, Damien Wallace, and Bob Weick

Photo credit: Drew Hood, Throwing Light Photography

As emancipated slaves flood north in search of employment and a chance to start over, Seth and Bertha Holly’s boarding house in Pittsburgh, offers a new place to call home in this drama by the multiple Pulitzer prize-winning author of The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars and Fences. When an angry and lost man arrives looking for his wife, forcibly removed from him years ago when he was captured and put in a chain gang by a man named Joe Turner, these once strangers are forced to confront their own demons and to come together to help him find his way. This is the first of two plays at P&P that looked back at life 100 years ago in celebration of their 100^th Anniversary Season.  August Wilson is heralded as one of the greatest writers of the 20^th century to explore black consciousness and culture.

“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is a big, strong, juicy play, and Plays & Players’ production is just as big, strong, and juicy… while the building may be old, the company is new; it’s led by Daniel Student, who is rapidly proving himself a young director of range and vision.”

-Philadelphia Inquirer

“Plays & Players production of the second part of that cycle, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, skillfully captures the tone and tension in the playwright’s work… Director Daniel Student creates the requisite tension between all these ideas and elements skillfully, while also bringing to life the warmth and simplicity of the everyday world in which these characters exist… creatively and technically, this production is beautifully mounted.”

-Stage Magazine

Travesties

Written by Tom Stoppard Directed by Candace Cihocki June 7-23, 2012

Plays & Players Skinner Studio

Photo credit: Kyle Ober

Starring: Kaki Burns, Andrew Carroll, Jim Ludovici, Cathy Mostek, Kristen Norine, Tim Rinehart, and Eric Wunsch

The second of two plays looking back at 100 years ago, Travesties is written by one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th Century. A Tony Award winning comedic masterpiece from the writer of Coast of Utopia, Arcadia, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Travesties takes you on a stylistic joy ride through an imagined meeting between James Joyce, Vladimir Lenin and Tristan Tzara who all lived in Zurich during World War I. When Joyce casts British consular official Henry Carr in a performance of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest in the lead role of Algernon, Carr finds himself immersed in a wacky and wonderful world of Wildean wit, Joycean limericks, Leninist ideology, and sheer Tzarist anarchy.

Photo credit: Kyle Ober

“His [Stoppard’s] 1974 Travesties is a supersmart, super-theatrical tour de force challenging both actors and audiences, and plucky little Plays and Players sometimes meets that challenge and sometimes doesn’t, but it’s well worth a look.”

-Philadelphia Inquirer

“This is a beautifully-written play that’s deliciously directed by Candace Cihocki… I really liked the way that she chose to use the entire space, making even inanimate objects have personality and spirit… please do yourself and a friend a favor and please see this show.”

-The Examiner

Linda Gryn
lgryn@playsandplayers.org

Vice President

Mike Connolly
mconnolly@playsandplayers.org

Treasurer

Jim Haley

Secretary

Quinn D. Eli

BOARD AT LARGE

Joseph Bray
John Cannon
Bonnie Grant
Robert Hotes
Valerie Lagauskas
Andrea Mannino
Jane Stojak
MaryKay Janssen
William McKinlay

Business on Board Candidate

Mooli Eisenbach

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

4:00-7:00PM

Library

Thursday, May 7th

Franklin Evan’s Poker

10PM-?

Quigs

Wednesday, May 13th

Philly Dramaturgy Open Office Hours

4:00-7:00PM

Library

Thursday, May 14th

Franklin Evan’s Poker

10PM-?

Quigs

Sunday, May 17th

Berserker Residents “Your Sunday Best”

9:00-10:00PM

Quigs

Wednesday, May 20th 

Philly Dramaturgy Open Office Hours

4:00-7:00PM

Library

Thursday, May 21st

Philosophy Symposium 

8:30-10:00PM

Quigs

Thursday, May 21st

Franklin Evan’s Poker

10PM-?

Quigs

Wednesday, May 27th 

Philly Dramaturgy Open Office Hours

4:00-7:00PM

Library 

Thursday, May 28th

Franklin Evan’s Poker

10PM-?

Quigs

Rob Cutler
rcutler@playsandplayers.org
Rob Cutler is a Philadelphia based Actor, Puppeteer, Improvisor, and Bartender.  Rob spent the better part of a decade working at Chris’ Jazz Cafe in various roles, devoting most of his effort to the beverage department’s activities.  As an actor, Rob has appeared with many companies in Philadelphia, including the Wilma Theater, EgoPo Productions, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, Quince Productions, Transmissions Theatre Co, and of course Plays and Players.
Rob is extremely excited to be  part of the Plays and Players staff and is looking forward to many years of developing success with such a fantastic group of people.

Audio Engineer

Kyle Yackoski
kyackoski@playsandplayers.org
This is Kyle’s second season at P&P as audio engineer.  Aside from P&P, Kyle  acts and designs for Tribe of Fools, and occasionally does electrics and carpentry with other theaters.  Outside of theater, Kyle works in catering year-round and manages the SWAT Team at Terror Behind the Walls.  He was recently married in May; his wife Janice currently attends Temple Medical School.

Consulting Artist

Daniel Student

Dan was the Producing Artistic Director at Plays & Players, for whom he directed The Disappearing Quarterback, Marcus; or The Secret of Sweet, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, A New Brain, Take Me Out, Early in the Mourning, and Oleanna, and starred as Shakespeare in William Shakespeare’s Land of the Dead. Other programs he created at Plays & Players include the Philly Fringe Preview Series, the Philly Bake-Off and PIFA New Play Festival, the P.L.A.Y. (Philadelphia Local Artists for Youth) series, and the Emerging Artists in Residence (EAR) program. His show he co-created and co-performed with Jennifer MacMillan and R. Eric Thomas, Overexposed: A Slightly Awkward Peep Show enjoyed five sold out performances with Quince Productions before going to the 2012 Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also starring Jamison Foreman.) He re-mounted Overexposed in 2013, as well as performing a new show with Ms. MacMillan and Mr. Thomas, (in)voluntary commitment. “Superheroes Who Are Super!,” a classic comic book staged reading series which he created, produced, and frequently directed, won Best In Philly from Philadelphia Magazine in 2010. Other recent directing credits include Beautiful Zion: A Book of the Dead (Philly Fringe), The Pillowman (Bootless Artworks), and Bug (All College Theatre at The College of New Jersey). He is a graduate of Vassar College and attended the 2007 Lincoln Center Director’s Lab.