MARCUS; OR THE SECRET OF SWEET

A PHILADELPHIA PREMIERE!

Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Directed by Daniel Student
October 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.

“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!

Written and performed by Mike Boryla
Directed by Daniel Student
January 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 Cihocki
March 13-30, 2014
Plays & Players Third Floor Skinner Studio

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.

“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 Heishman
June 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

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