Curio Theatre Company Will Continue 2019-2020 Season with the North American Premiere of ALICE

Curio Theatre Company continues its 15th season with a beautiful love story from Ireland making its North American premiere. I ♥ Alice ♥ I, by Amy Conroy, is co-directed by Curio company members Gay Carducci and Rachel Gluck. The show, which is part of Theatre Philadelphia's Philly Theatre Week 2020, begins previews Feb. 5, opens on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m., and runs through Feb. 29. Tickets cost between $15 and $30 and are available online at www.curiotheatre.org or by phone at 215-921-8243. Curio is also offering $10 Student Rush tickets for each show, which are available at the door starting at 7:50 p.m. before each performance. All shows are performed at Curio's home theatre at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 4740 Baltimore Ave.

In I ♥ Alice ♥ I, two exceptional, opinionated women are spotted kissing each other in Dublin's Crumlin Shopping Centre in this surprisingly funny and heartfelt new work. And now they're in a show ... reluctantly. Defying stereotypes, they're here to share with the audience something they've never dared show before. They are very nervous. And it shows. This new work from Ireland is a beautiful love story about two women called Alice.

"I think what drew me to this piece first and foremost was the sheer joy it expresses," Gluck said of Alice. "The majority of same-sex love stories we see in theatre and film are tragedies. They mine homophobia and other sources of LGBTQ+ trauma for conflict and drama. This is a piece that says you can simply tell a love story."

"One of the things that initially drew me to this play was that it's about two women of age," Carducci added. "We're doing a season of comedy for our 15th anniversary and I did immediately love the humour, but also the heart and depth of the characters. These are two people in love, in a relationship that has stood the test of time. They are everyday people, like me and like you. Their ups and downs have only made them stronger. I think that sometimes there is a concept that you only grow and gain new insights when you are young. These two characters show that this is not always the case."

Company members Trice Baldwin Browns and Aetna Gallagher star in this lovely story from the Emerald Isle. Curio Managing Director Gay Carducci co-directs this piece with company member Rachel Gluck. Curio Artistic Director Paul Kuhn is designing the set and Gallagher is doing double duty designing the costumes. Damien Figueras is the Sound Designer, Jillian Schwab is Props Designer and Dalton Whiting is the Lighting Designer. Catherine Adams is the Dramaturg. 

"The fact that it's is a love story about two women whose relationship spans five decades shows us that same sex couples not only can live, but have been living joyful lives together for a long time, and that trauma is not the only compelling focus for narratives involving LGBT+ characters," Gluck said.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Gudelunas