'New Plays In May' - Free - At The Waterfront

NEW PLAYS IN MAY

WATERFRONT PLAYHOUSE READING SERIES TO FEATURE THEATER, AND RESTAURANT COMEDIES 

The Waterfront Playhouse will present its play reading series of original plays on Tuesday, April 29 and Thursday, May 8 at 8:00 pm. The New Plays in May series will feature a trio of scripts from Monroe County playwrights. A total of 15 scripts were submitted this season, with a selection committee from the Key West Players choosing the final line-up. The series is part of the Waterfront's mission to promote local playwrights and is free and open to the public. A talkback session is held after each reading to provide the playwrights with audience feedback and reaction.         

"Weathering the Storm," a full-length comedy by Monnie King, is the story of Teddy, a Key West community theater owner, who devises a scheme to secure the funds needed to keep his beloved playhouse afloat. With the help of a local actress and the theater's café manager, Teddy goes head-to-head with his estranged wife in a desperate attempt to safeguard the purse strings. While Teddy weathers the storm inside to keep the house standing, an approaching hurricane outside threatens to bring the house down around all of them. Chris Tittel, playwright and chair of the play-reading committee, will direct. "Weathering the Storm" is scheduled for 8 p.m. on April 29.

"Weathering the Storm" is a follow-up work to King's play, "Mother's Gift," which was part of the reading series in 2005 and went to production at the Waterfront in 2006.

"Can I Help You?" is a short comedy by Tammy Shanley that takes audiences on a lively romp through the sometimes crazed world of waiting tables. Sally, Joanie and Jerrie banter about the ups and downs of life while bouncing around the restaurant serving cantankerous customers, hustling food from kitchen to table and wiping down the cutlery.

Emily Haessler will direct. Haessler brings to the project behind-the-scenes experience with community and children's theater in the Keys, as well as her experience as a waitress in a previous occupational life.

"Mammy's Pantry" was inspired by Mammy's Cupboard, a vintage restaurant in rural Mississippi built in the shape of a giant Mammy. The full-length comedy tells the story of Charles, a University of Miami student in the midst of an identity crisis, and what he learns about identity on the road to Mammy's Pantry. The play takes a serious turn when presidential candidates – a white woman and a black man – put a campaign spin on what they consider a politically incorrect feature on the American landscape that must be torn down. Charles does his best to rescue the landmark and the identity of Mabel Frances, the diner's owner and the epitome of Mammy herself.

Vanessa McCaffrey, a veteran of the Key West stage, will direct. "Can I Help You?" and "Mammy's Pantry" are scheduled for 8 p.m. on May 8.

For more information, call 305-294-5015 or go to www.waterfrontplayhouse.com.

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