A Writer Edits Family History in A Memory Play, Starting Dec. 3 in NYC
By Kenneth Jones
19 Nov 2008
WorkShop Theater Company in New York City will present A Memory Play, a dark family comedy by Bob Stewart, Dec. 3-20.
Gary Levinson directs the "funny and poignant examination of the American family," in which "a struggling playwright looking for commercial success decides that he will rewrite his parents' wedding day so that they don't get married."
A Memory Play is the first in a trilogy called "The Marriage Variations," including the tragedy American Inheritance and a comedy All You Can Eat. A Memory Play was voted "Best of the Festival" at the Midtown International Theatre Festival and won a place at the TRU Reading Series in Manhattan.
According to production notes, "As he retraces his parents' courtship, the playwright steps back to a pivotal day in 1947 when his father, a hunky G.I., and his mother, a pretty Southern belle with a secret past, are in the throes of negotiating their marriage. Happy, excited and in love, the writer's parents re-enact the golden period of their youth as they cope with easier issues of that day — like whether or not to have sex before marriage. But as their characters shift back and forth in time, the pain caused by their inappropriate behavior — and what they have become to each other as the years pass — is revealed."
Director Levinson is the producing director, co-founder and dramaturg for MoonSoup Productions, which first presented A Memory Play. The cast features Trey Albright, Susan Izatt and Artie Ray.
A Memory Play will play at the WorkShop Theater Company (312 West 36th Street, 4th Floor, Main Stage). Performances are Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM. Tickets are $18; $15 for seniors/students. For more information and reservations call (212) 695-4173.
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Now in its 15th season, the Workshop Theater Company specializes in the development of new plays. The company fuels the talents of actors, playwrights and directors with the presentation of readings and workshops as well as fully staged plays, musicals and multimedia presentations. The film "Finding Neverland" started as a stage play by Allan Knee that was first presented at the WorkShop. Recent Off-Broadway productions that were developed at the WorkShop include Natalie Mosco's A Brush with Georgia O'Keeffe, Shel Silverstein's The Devil and Billy Markham and Knee's The Jazz Age.
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