2008-9 Season

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Port City Playhouse is Proud to Announce Their 31st Season

An American Daughter – by Wendy Wasserstein

Auditions: July 28 & 29 *

Performances: Sept. 19,20,23,26,27, Oct.3,4 *

Set in Washington, D.C., An American Daughter focuses on Dr Lyssa Dent Hughes, a health care expert and forty-something daughter of a long-time U.S. Senator.

When the President nominates Lyssa to a Cabinet post, an indiscretion from her past is discovered. The media turns it into a scandal which imperils her confirmation and divides her family and friends. Lyssa is forced to make a decision; continue to pursue the post and face an ugly Senate hearing; or decline the nomination, becoming a sacrificial lamb for the President.

Partisan politics in our nation's capital, however, are nothing compared to the personal politics in Lyssa's living room, where complicated relationships unravel with her father, along with her husband and her best girlfriend — not to mention the awkward encounters she has with an exuberant neo-feminist author and a relentless TV journalist.

Veronica's Room – by Ira Levin

Auditions: Oct 13th & 14th *

Performances: Dec.5,6,9,12,13,19,20 *

It's a totally absorbing spider web entwining fantasy and reality. Susan Kerner, a young Boston college student and Larry Eastwood, a young lawyer she's just met, have been enticed to the Brabissant mansion by the Mackeys, a charming, elderly Irish couple who are struck by Susan's strong resemblance to Veronica Brabissant, long dead daughter of the family for whom they work.

They view Veronica's picture in her room, untouched by time. Susan is induced to impersonate Veronica for awhile to give solace to the only living Brabissant, her addled sister living in the past and believing Veronica is alive and angry with her. But once dressed in Veronica's clothes, Susan finds herself locked in the role and locked in Veronica's room. Or is she Veronica, in 1935, pretending to be an imaginary Susan? One critic said, "like being trapped in someone else's nightmare . . . Jarring and surprising climax."

Doubt, A Parable - by John Patrick Shanley

Auditions: Jan 5 & 6, 2009 *

Performances: Feb. 20,21,24,27,28,Mar. 6,7 *

"What do you do when you're not sure?" Father Flynn asks the audience in the opening line of this play, setting the stage for a story of suspicion and moral certainty.

His colleague, Sister Aloysius, is an old-school nun who insists that her students not be coddled: "Every easy choice today will have its consequence tomorrow. Mark my words." Flynn, following the Second Vatican Council's directive, believes the clergy should be more accessible to the parish and be thought of "as members of their family."

These two schools of thought come into direct conflict when Aloysius suspects Flynn of "interfering" with Donald Muller, the school's first black student. Sister James, an inexperienced but enthusiastic young nun who has been an indirect witness to the dealings between Flynn and Muller, is subsequently confronted by Aloysius. When James reluctantly reports smelling alcohol on Donald's breath after a visit with Flynn, she sets the play's central conflict into motion. The fourth character, Mrs. Muller (Donald's mother) provides yet another perspective when she's brought in to discuss the situation with Aloysius. She supports her son's friendship with Flynn, inappropriate or not, and hints that this situation has arisen for Donald before.

In a verbal Battle of the Titans, Aloysius confronts Flynn with her suspicions, demanding his confession and resignation. He refuses, denying any wrong-doing. When Aloysius claims to have evidence, he appears to crumple and she exits, seemingly victorious.

In the final scene, we learn that Flynn has been transferred to another parish and received a promotion.

The Curious Savage - by John Patrick

Auditions: Mar 23 & 24 *

Performances: May 8,9,12,15,16,22,23 *

Mrs. Savage has been left ten million dollars by her husband and wants to make the best use of it, in spite of the efforts of her grown-up stepchildren to get their hands on it. They, knowing that the widow's wealth is now in negotiable securities, and seeing they cannot get hold of it, commit her to a "sanatorium" hoping to "bring her to her senses." But Mrs. Savage is determined to establish a fund to help others realize their hopes and dreams.

In the sanatorium she meets various social misfits, men and women who just cannot adjust themselves to life, people who need the help Mrs. Savage can provide. In getting to know them, she realizes that she will find happiness with them and plans to spend the rest of her life as one of them. But when the doctor tells her there is no reason why she should remain, she hesitates to go out into a hard world where people seem ready to do anything for money.

The self-seeking stepchildren are driven to distraction by their vain efforts to browbeat Mrs. Savage, but she preserves her equanimity and leads them on a merry chase. At last her friends conspire to get rid of her stepchildren, and through their simple belief in the justice of her cause, they enable Mrs. Savage to carry out her plans.

The last scene, a farewell party, is a delightful fantasy where each "guest" in the sanatorium realizes at last some hopeless dream for something he was never able to realize. The dominant mood is high comedy, and the audience is left with a feeling that the neglected virtues of kindness and affection have not been entirely lost in a world that seems motivated at times only by greed and dishonesty.

* NOTE: All dates are subject to change based on space availability. Please check back often.

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