Making God Laugh by Sean Grennan
November 4th – December 17th, 2023
Making God Laugh follows one typical American family over the course of thirty years’ worth of holidays. Starting in 1980, Ruthie and Bill’s grown children — a priest, an aspiring actress, and a former football star — all return home, where we learn of their plans and dreams as they embark on their adult lives. The empty-nester parents contend with their own changes, too, as old family rituals are trotted out and ancient tensions flare up. As time passes, the family discovers that, despite what we may have in mind, we often arrive at unexpected destinations. As Woody Allen once said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans…”
One Slight Hitch by Louis Black
January 6th – February 18, 2024
It’s Courtney’s wedding day, and her mom, Delia, is making sure that everything is perfect. The groom is perfect, the dress is perfect, and the decorations (assuming they arrive) will be perfect. Then, like in any good farce the doorbell rings. And all hell breaks loose. So much for perfect. “There’s more than a touch of Neil Simon in the morose Mr. Black.” —NY Times. “If you think of Lewis Black solely as a curmudgeonly comedian whose default setting is a state of apoplexy at the imbecility of his fellow man, you might be surprised by ONE SLIGHT HITCH. It’s not unexpected that HITCH should abound in snappy wisecracks and keen social observation. Those, after all, are hallmarks of Black’s stand-up act and his appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. But what is that we detect on Black’s sleeve at the end of his play? Is that his…heart?” —Boston Globe. “If sustained laughter is the best measure of a comedy, ONE SLIGHT HITCH makes the grade.” —Asbury Park Press.
The Underpants by Carl Sternheim, adapted by Steve Martin
March 2nd – April 21st, 2024
Legendary comedian and writer Steve Martin is back with a riotously funny farce. Newly married Louise is bored with her demanding and uptight bureaucrat husband. Then one day at the royal parade, she jumps up on a bench to see the king go by, and oops—wardrobe malfunction!—her bloomers come loose and fall down around her ankles. Her husband is frantic that her faux pas will cost him his job and reputation. But suddenly the room they’ve been trying to rent out has plenty of takers, and it just might have something to do with…the underpants. Steve Martin brings us a hilarious look at sudden fame and the crazy things people do when they’re in the grip of romantic fever. The New York Times calls the play “laugh-out-loud funny!”
Moonlight and Magnolias by Ron Hutchinson
May 4th – June 9th, 2024
1939 Hollywood is abuzz. Legendary producer David O. Selznick has shut down production of his new epic, Gone with the Wind, a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell’s novel. The screenplay just doesn’t work. Summoning two Hollywood writers to his office, he locks the doors, closes the shades, and on a diet of bananas and peanuts, the three men labor over five days to fashion a screenplay that will become the blueprint for one of the most successful and beloved films of all time. Frankly my dear, this is one funny play.
****The actors consume peanuts on stage during the performance, so any audience member with allergies should be advised to attend with caution.