Craig Houk's New Play COOLER Opens At LAB Theater Project May 15

LAB Theater project will present the world premiere of Craig Houk's intriguing comedy Cooler. Set in the gray zone between friendship and rivalry, Cooler is a darkly funny and gripping discourse about aging, ambition, and the roles we play when we think no one is watching.

Cooler is Craig Houk's second play to premier at LAB Theater Project, after last season's family drama Syd.  Houk is a DC based playwright whose plays have won awards at readings and presentations in Virginia and across the eastern U.S., and his short works and monologues have been published in several collections.  Cooler is directed by well-known actor, teacher and director Katie Calahan, and features regional actors Jason Hoolihan, Kyle Stone and Denise Mestanza-Taylor.  Set and lighting design are by LAB founder Owen Robertson, set dressing and props by Beth Tepe-Robertson, scenic artist M'ria Swire, sound by Rick Anthony and costumes by Lindsay Ellis.

Director Katie Calahan says she loves this script “because as much as I felt its roots in Poe or Twilight Zone -- in the smooth, exciting journey the dialogue creates -- I didn't see the dark twists in the story coming!”

About the play:

Two legendary actors.  One long night.  And a secret that could blow everything apart.  Oscar winner Jack Dunn returns from self-imposed exile to face his oldest friend – and rival – Wade Henry.  A long evening of drinking and poker with their pals spirals into a sharp, booze-fueled showdown where grudges are laid bare, and reputations are up for grabs.  Jack and Wade, both eager to cement their legacies, face off one last time.  As Director Calahan says, “This play is exactly the kind of dark and stormy night where the unexpected comes to call, as past debts have come due and there's no winning this game.  Ante up and buckle up.”

Playwright Craig Houk says that “I frequently explore toxic masculinity in my works, usually assigning those traits to characters who, on occasion, evolve into slightly better men, but who generally meet their downfall because of it – resulting in either hilarity or devastation, sometimes both.  With Cooler it's all front and center:  toxicity on full display as two men with outrageously inflated egos come together under intense circumstances.  

Cooler runs for three weekends, May 15 through June 1.  Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8:00 and Sunday matinees at 3:00, at LAB's theater at 812 E. Henderson, in the new Gasworx neighborhood between downtown Tampa and Ybor City.  On-Demand performances will be available starting May 29 through June 12.  Audience members who purchase on-demand tickets will be emailed a link to the video site.