Adrian, MI – Audiences will get to see three shows in one when the Croswell Opera House stages a trio of one-act plays this weekend.
The three plays, each by a different author, will be performed back to back. The total run time will be a little less than two hours.
“Short plays are a medium we don’t often get to explore on the Croswell stage, so this is an exciting chance to give our audience something new,” Croswell artistic director Jere Righter said.
The first play, “The Actor’s Nightmare,” is by Christopher Durang, a playwright known mainly for absurdist comedy. In the play, an actor finds himself in the middle of a production with no idea what part he’s playing. The settings and characters keep changing as he and the other actors navigate new takes on classic scenes, including plays by Shakespeare and Noel Coward.
“The Actor’s Nightmare” is directed by Ron Baumanis. The cast is made up of Steven Owsley of Jackson; Kennedy Mitchell, Tim Ray and Conner Raymond, all of Adrian; and Hannah Wiles of Milan.
A Michigan playwright is next on the list. “The Elevator: Sharing with Strangers” is a two-person play by Detroit-area actor, director and writer Kryssy Becker. The play is directed by Joseph Zettelmaier and features two people, played by Kylie Bushman and Maya Gangadharan, both of Adrian, who get stuck in an elevator during a blackout.
Becker said the idea for the play came from a family conversation about online memes, and “specifically the odd sensation that comes with reading a meme about something weird you do and realizing thousands of people experience the same thing.”
“The feeling of having a shared connection with strangers is so powerful,” she said, “and brought to mind moments in person when you connect with a total stranger, whether it be a knowing glance or a full conversation, only to never see them again,”
The final play of the evening is “Hidden in this Picture,” a comedy by Aaron Sorkin, creator of TV’s “The West Wing,” “The Newsroom,” and “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.”
“Hidden in this Picture” centers on a film director preparing to shoot an epic scene that could be the greatest shot of his career, only to find the shoot derailed when a herd of cows wander into the shot. It is directed by Peter Crist and features Conner Raymond and Chris Sancho, both of Adrian; Cassie Kirchmeier of Jackson; and Andrew Packard of Holland, Ohio.
The Croswell is at 129 E. Maumee St., Adrian. Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students, and may be ordered by calling 517-264-7469 or online at croswell.org.
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*Media Courtesy of the Croswell Opera House*