Michael Gravois News

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of December 4th.

Voting has now opened for the 2014 BroadwayWorld Memphis Regional Awards! Check out the latest live stats as of November 25th.

With its emphasis on improvisation, stock characters, and a genial carnival atmosphere, the Commedia dell' arte (dating back as early as the 16th century) has never had much appeal to me; I generally find the productions thumb-twiddling after a while. I certainly had my reservations about Playhouse on the Square's current production, ONE MAN, TWO GUVNORS, adapted by British playwright Richard Bean from a 1743 play by Venetian Carlo Goldoni. However, as much as I cringe at the thought of a play written in this tradition, at the opposite end I am very much a fan of British humor at its silliest - from the 1930's and 40's comedies of Will Hay (who, at least in a number of films, utilized his own kind of stock company) to the sketches of Benny Hill and Rowan Atkinson's delightful MR. BEAN (and wasn't there a group called MONTY PYTHON?) That said, Mr. Bean's sublimely silly little take on the Goldoni play, removed in time and place to early 1960's Brighton, has a plot that bounces from corner to corner of the proscenium like a ping pong ball on Ritalin.

In this fresh, English version of the classic farce, Servant of Two Masters, Francis Hernshall has just been fired from his folk jazz skiffle band. Desperate for work, he becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe. But Roscoe is really Rachel, posing as her own dead brother -- who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Francis spots the chance for an extra meal ticket and takes a job with Stubbers -- but to prevent discovery he must keep his two 'guvnors' apart. Simple. This unique laugh-out-loud mix of satire, songs, and slapstick is an award-winning celebration of British Comedy.

In this fresh, English version of the classic farce, Servant of Two Masters, Francis Hernshall has just been fired from his folk jazz skiffle band. Desperate for work, he becomes minder to Roscoe Crabbe. But Roscoe is really Rachel, posing as her own dead brother -- who's been killed by her boyfriend Stanley Stubbers. Francis spots the chance for an extra meal ticket and takes a job with Stubbers -- but to prevent discovery he must keep his two "guvnors" apart. Simple. This unique laugh-out-loud mix of satire, songs, and slapstick is an award-winning celebration of British Comedy.

Don't Put Your Faith in HIMmelman

Grace is making its shining regional debut at The Circuit Playhouse. This tragicomedy centers on a naive, evangelical couple, Sam (Joel Onken) and Sara (Morgan Howard) who move from Minnesota to Florida to pursue Steve's dream of opening a chain of gospel-themed motels.

During World War II, the gifted young Jewish girl chronicles her rapidly changing life as she and 7 others hide in an attic to avoid the terrors of Nazi rule. This transcendently powerful adaptation by Wendy Kesselman tells a deeper story by incorporating Holocaust survivor accounts and newly discovered writings from Anne Frank's diary.

During World War II, the gifted young Jewish girl chronicles her rapidly changing life as she and 7 others hide in an attic to avoid the terrors of Nazi rule. This transcendently powerful adaptation by Wendy Kesselman tells a deeper story by incorporating Holocaust survivor accounts and newly discovered writings from Anne Frank's diary.

Greater Tuna plays have been a Memphis tradition since the 1990's. A Tuna Christmas, Directed by Ann Marie Hall (Singin' in the Rain), the second in this series, is a wild yuletide caper that introduces us to the eccentric residents of Tuna--Texas' third-smallest town.

A Tuna Christmas by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams will run tonight, November 15 - December 29, 2013 at The Circuit Playhouse.

A Tuna Christmas by Ed Howard, Joe Sears, and Jaston Williams will run November 15 - December 29, 2013 at The Circuit Playhouse.

A Tuna Christmas runs November 15 - December 29 at The Circuit Playhouse. The Pay What You Can performance is Thursday, November 21 at 8pm. The Circuit Playhouse is located at 51 S. Cooper Street. For more information or to make reservations, please call 901-726-4656 or purchase tickets online at playhouseonthesquare.org.

My belated mother once said, 'Your house is your house and your life is your life, and they really are two separate things.' But are they? Playwright Bruce Norris explores this question in Clybourne Park a provocative play set in an ordinary house in a fictional Chicago suburb.

An off-shoot of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, this wickedly funny and frank play about territory won both the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2012 Tony Award for Best Play. Clybourne Park's two acts are set 50 years apart. Act One takes place in 1959 as nervous community leaders try to stop the sale of a home to a black family. Act Two is set in the same house in the present day as the now predominantly African-American neighborhood battles to hold its ground in the face of gentrification.

Sarah and James, a photographer and a writer, put it all on the line for their jobs, telling the toughest stories in the midst of war. Sarah is sidelined by injuries she sustained in a car bombing, but longs to get back to the action. James is relieved to have her home and sees it as their chance to choose a more conventional life together. As they grapple with this, their friend Richard drops by with his much younger girlfriend, a bubbly event planner who can't understand why journalists simply record what they see instead of trying to stop the violence. Nominated for 2 Tony Awards in 2010 including Best Play.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright of Rabbit Hole comes 'a humorous and poignant look at what it really means to be down on your luck. Margie Walsh is a single mother living in South Boston. Having lost her job and facing eviction, she's scrambling to catch a break. So when an old flame from the neighborhood who is now very successful moves back to town, Margie hopes he can help turn her life around. Their reunion unlocks decades of memories and resentments that neither has been able to truly put to rest.'

The latest installment from the creators of Greater Tuna, A Tuna Christmas, and Red, White and Tuna gets its regional premier at The Circuit Playhouse beginning June 8th. When a conservative radio host announces on the air that he and his wife will renew their vows in Sin City, all of the residents of Tuna, Texas's third smallest town, come along for the ride. Favorite characters from past 'Tuna' productions return, and new ones are introduced by a cast of two actors.