celebrates Yale playwrights
Past and present playwrights at the Yale School of Drama (YSD) will be celebrated during the Summer Cabaret at Yale's 26th season, which opens on Thursday, June 29.
Former faculty members Len Jenkin and Charles Ludlam, as well as YSD alumnus Christopher Durang and current student Leslie Kramer, are among the playwrights whose works will be featured this season under the leadership of artistic director Shannon C.M. Flynn and managing director Lori Monnier.
"Summer Cabaret 2000 offers a season of compelling and entertaining theater for New Haven audiences," says Flynn. "These four plays will challenge, delight and stretch your imagination in the intimate surroundings of the Yale Cabaret, where extraordinary theater combines with exquisite cuisine for an unforgettable experience."
The season opener, "Poor Folk's Pleasure" written by Jenkin and directed by Summer Cabaret artistic associate Glynis Rigsby, runs June 29-July 8. A ride through the dark underbelly of Americana, "Poor Folk's Pleasure" weaves together scenes, songs and dances while introducing audiences to such characters as Leroy Smiles, the Crab Man and the aphasic Franky the Finn.
The season continues July 12-22 with a world premiere adaptation of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" by Kramer, who is in his second year in the School of Drama's playwriting program. Shannon Flynn will direct this contemporary adaptation that manages to find humor in the nightmarish situation Kafka's protagonist finds himself upon waking one morning.
Durang's screwball satire "Beyond Therapy" plays July 26-Aug. 5. Directed by Kelly Flynn, "Beyond Therapy" exposes the neuroses of Bruce and Prudence who meet through the personals section of the local newspaper. Their first date is a roller coaster ride that leads each of them to consult a psychiatrist.
"When I wrote ['Beyond Therapy'], all my friends were turning 30," said Durang, a 1999 Obie Award winner for the play "Betty's Summer Vacation" and one of the YSD's best known alumni. "Most of them were seeing psychiatrists. They all talked about relationships. And they all worried about not being married yet; so the play is about relationships and also how psychology and psychobabble hinder and help us."
The season closes with Ludlam's "The Mystery of Irma Vep," running Aug. 9-19. Directed by Shannon Flynn, "The Mystery of Irma Vep" features two performers portraying men, women and an assortment of monsters in a full-length quick-change act. Set in an English estate, "The Mystery of Irma Vep" examines the life and times of Lady Enid Hillcrest and her uppercrust husband Lord Edgar, who are both haunted by the memory of Edgar's first wife, Lady Irma.
The Summer Cabaret is located at 217 Park St. Performances take place on Wednesday through Saturday at 8:30 p.m., with the house opening for dinner service at 7 p.m. Chef Kristyn La Plante has created a menu of light seasonal fare including a selection of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, hot entrees and desserts. Beer and wine are also available.
Individual tickets for all Summer Cabaret productions are now on sale. Prices range from $10 to $16. Subscription packages ranging from $36 to $56 are also on sale. Discounted tickets are available for students, senior citizens and groups. For more information, call the Summer Cabaret box office at (203) 432-1567 or visit www.yale.edu/summercabaret.
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