Wendy Hammond's Absence, a Tale of Secrets in a Marriage, Opens in PA Oct. 16

By Kenneth Jones
16 Oct 2009

Absence stars Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood
Absence stars Judith Lightfoot Clarke and Greg Wood
Photo by Mark Garvin

People's Light & Theatre in Malvern, PA, opens the world premiere of Wendy Hammond's Absence, about a Mormon marriage affected by a secret life, Oct. 16.

Greg Wood and Judith Lightfoot Clarke play the couple. Previews began Oct. 14 for a run to Nov. 8. People's Light founder Ken Marini directs on the Steinbright Stage.

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According to the suburban Philadelphia company, "In Absence, Peter and Mary are a young Mormon couple. He is a brilliant Harvard grad, recruited into the CIA in 1945, which leads him into an increasingly secretive and dangerous life. We follow the rocky landscape of their marriage through 1993, as Peter's career, and the shifting terrain of American foreign policy, leak poison into their marriage."

Absence was developed under the title The Hole, which premiered at Purple Rose Theatre in Michigan in 1998. The show has changed significantly since then, leading to this new world premiere. Hammond stated, "The themes and the characters are the same, but the scene structure, dialogue and plot have all been reworked."

Hammond drew from personal experience to write the play. She was raised a Mormon, and her father worked for The Rand Corporation. "He did a lot of confidential work that he couldn't talk about, and was often in other countries for reasons we didn't know," Hammond said in production notes. "I think his Mormon faith and his job created a constant conflict in his life."

Hammond's plays include Julie Johnson, Family Life: 3 Brutal Comedies, Jersey City, The Ghostman, Wendy in the Wacko Ward and Road Rage: A Love Story.

Wood's Philly area resume includes Marvin in Falsettos, Johnny in Misalliance, Tartuffe in Tartuffe, Cyrano in Cyrano de Bergerac and Antony in Antony & Cleopatra for the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Mr. Lockhart in The Seafarer with the Arden Theatre Co., and Senator Hedges in Born Yesterday at the Walnut Street Theatre.

Clarke has performed Off-Broadway in Three Travelers, The Normal Heart (Public Theatre), Eve-olution (Cherry Lane), Communicating Doors (Variety Arts), Sacrifice to Eros (York) and GMHC's Anyone Can Whistle benefit at Carnegie Hall. Regionally, she appeared at The Old Globe, Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, Alley, Wilma (Cloud 9), Cincinnati Playhouse, Indiana Rep, Syracuse Stage, Capital Rep, Merrimack Rep and Soho Rep.

People's Light & Theatre is located at 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. For tickets call (610) 644-3500 or visit www.peopleslight.org.