The House of Blue Leaves at Western Reserve Playhouse

Western Reserve Playhouse presents wildly funny & deeply unsetting THE HOUSE OF BLUE LEAVES by John Guare

Directed by August Scarpelli, The House of Blue Leaves cuts the distance between audience and action. Winner of the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, The House of Blue Leaves is a true dark comedy, blending farce with biting satire, jarring tonal shifts, and laugh-out-loud moments you’ll struggle to explain the next day.

Set in New York City on the day of a papal visit, The House of Blue Leaves centers on Artie Shaughnessy, a struggling songwriter desperate for recognition as his personal life spirals out of control. His emotionally fragile wife Bananas, his ambitious mistress Bunny, and his volatile son Ronnie collide in a single chaotic day marked by political unrest, media frenzy, and an absolutely absurd turn of events. The fourth wall barely lasts five minutes in this fast-paced, meta-theatrical farcical thriller, blending absurd escalation and dark satire, reminiscent of the spiraling chaos found in The Chair Company or the darkly comic extremity of The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

This production stars Robert Webster as Artie Shaughnessy, who was last seen in April’s production of The Shark is Broken, with Mia Radabaugh as Bananas Shaughnessy, who played many of our favorite characters in this summer’s Anton in Show Business. Holly Facer, a regular face to our Five Bucks Series, plays girlfriend Bunny Flingus. Ryan Bodnar appears as Ronnie Shaughnessy in his WRP debut, alongside Mark Stoffer as Billy Einhorn and Lauren Koleszar as Corrinna Stroller, who were last seen in 2024s Death of a Salesman. The ensemble also includes Emily Donaldson (Head Nun), Natalie Joritz (Second Nun), Hannah Woodside (Little Nun), Jim Fippin (The White Man), and Mario Becerra (M.P.).

The characters in The House of Blue Leaves break the fourth wall, and the intimacy of the historic barn places audiences in close proximity to the action, heightening every emotional turn. The play’s broad, fast-moving farce is grounded in the claustrophobic reality of a gritty 1960s New York apartment, where Artie and his unstable wife Bananas attempt to survive their own unraveling. The result is a volatile theatrical experience in which laughter, discomfort, and immediacy are inseparable.

The House of Blue Leaves opens January 16th and runs through January 31st at Western Reserve Playhouse, 3326 Everett Road in Bath, Ohio. A pre-show reception will take place prior to the January 17 performance, with a $5 optional drink add-on available before the show. Tickets are on sale now. Seating is limited in this intimate historic venue.