Christopher Durang Goes Adrift in Macao While Rupert is Out

By: Nov. 07, 2005
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On November 6th, Michael Rupert was understudied in Adrift in Macao by none other than the show's playwright--Christopher Durang.

Illlness took Rupert out of the Sunday matinee of the parodic musical. Durang, who penned the book and lyrics of Adrift in Macao, came to the rescue by performing in the role of Rick Shaw, a character who bears more than a passing resemblance to the more famous Rick of Casablanca. The show is currently running through November 20th in a production at the Philadelphia Theatre Company.

Rupert, an accomplished playwright whose surreally comic works include Betty's Summer Vacation, Beyond Therapy, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Baby with the Bathwater, has been seen onstage before--in his plays Laughing Wild and The Marriage of Bette and Boo, and in the Sondheim revue Putting It Together. His newest piece, Miss Witherspoon, will open on December 1st at Playwrights Horizon, a theatre with which Durang is associated. While Rupert is expected to return to the musical on November 8th, Durang is prepared to perform again.

Adrift in Macao is expected to move to New York after its Philadelphia run;  Susan Dietz and Ina Meibach are said to be the prospective producers. The show, which features music by Peter Melnick, is directed by Sheryl Kaller. In addition to Tony Award-winner Rupert (Sweet Charity, Falsettos, Ragtime) the musical features Rachel deBenedet, Jennie Eisenhower, Michael M. Malone, David McDonald, Orville Mendoza, Michele Ragusa. Adrift in Macao "is a funny and irreverent musical parody of film noir…mixing together farce, camp and tongue-in-cheek wit (that) spins the tale of five quirky characters stranded in a Casablanca-like locale in the Orient," according to notes.

An earlier version of Adrift in Macao was seen at Vassar College's Powerhouse Theatre in summer of 2002; it was presented as part of New York Stage & Film's summer season that year.

For more information, visit www.phillytheatreco.com.



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