Hospitality Suite

by: Roger Rueff

Again, one of my favorites. It was actually made into a movie before I heard about it. The movie, The Big Kahuna, was amazing. I then saw that it was based on a play, got my hands on it and was awed by the fact that it was almost word for word the same. That so very rarely happens.

The play is about 3 industrial lubricant salesmen and what transpires during a hospitality party. IMDB sums it up thusly:

On the last evening of a convention two seen-it-all industrial lubricant salesmen and a youngster from the research department gather in the hotel's hospitality suite to host a delegates party. The main aim is to get the business of one particular big fish. When it becomes apparent that it is the lad who has developed a direct line to the guy, his strong religious beliefs bring him into sharp conflict with his older and more cynical colleagues.

For me this play, with all it's subtleties and openness, is one superb example of a play that should be performed in churches everywhere. It won't be though. The language is too blue, too honest. Oh well. C'est la vie.
~9/10~

[personal notes: this one would be great for Al, Tony and I to do together sometime. Sometime when they are up to the length of it.]

The Zoo Story

by: Edward Albee

This is one of my all-time favorites, as you can tell by the list over on the side. This was also my final project in school, which I produced, acted in, did props, special fx and costumes for as well. It was so much fun!

The play itself is amazing for a playwrights first play. The characters are supremely well drawn and either one is an actor's dream; Jerry however is just a little more desirable. The play is about two guys in a park and the inevitable fight over the ownership of the bench. It's much deeper though than just that little sentence.

Jerry is a very hurting individual who lives a very difficult, colorful life. Peter is your white-collar worker who has all he needs, except peace and quiet on this particular day.
~10/10~

[personal notes: not one that I would immediately think of for Sanctuary for the Monkeys, but one that our community would connect with for sure.]

An Actor's Nightmare

by: Christoper Durang

A very funny comedy about a man who finds himself getting ready for a production which he remembers nothing about. The production switches between several different plays and the characters constantly change as well.
~8/10~

[personal notes for me]
I like it. I don't know if it would be doable for Sanctuary just yet. We do have several actors who are capable, but it would require 40-60 hours of rehearsal itself at this point.

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

by: Stephen Adly Guirgis

I love this play. I can't say enough good things about this gem of a play. It has all the right ingredients to make it a star. I wish so much that I could do it here at Sanctuary some time. I would love to either direct or be in it. Which character? I don't know. Maybe Judas, maybe Satan, maybe Jesus.

This play, simply, is a "philosophical meditation on the conflict between divine mercy and human free will that takes a close look at the eternal damnation of the Bible's most notorious sinner." It takes place in a courtroom setting in purgatory with lawyers and history fighting over an appeal signed by saint Peter for Judas Iscariot.

The dialogue is unbelievably clever. The characters are very well drawn. The only thing I have a bit of an issue with is the language in some places. For the most part, the language he chooses to use is appropriate, however there are some places where he goes off the deep end and I, personally, don't feel that it fits. That's probably the only negative thing I have to say about this. I also love the picture it paints of Jesus. Probably the best portrayal of Jesus ever in modern and post-modern culture.

~10/10~

Marriage Play

Edward Albee's Marriage Play is another fantastic piece of theatre by one of my favorite playwrights of all time. He has a way with dysfunctional relationships. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf...?, Three Tall Women, The American Dream, I mean the list just goes on. He is amazing in each of those plays as well. And while I love his work, something about the dysfunctional marriage theme is starting to drag on. I enjoyed it thoroughly in Virginia Woolf...?, and most of the others. However in Marriage Play, I find it a little more tired than usual. The end is fantastic and exactly the way it should end, however the character dynamics leave much to be desired, at least for me.

~7/10~