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Enter “Philosophus”

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“The secret of being boring is to say everything.”
~François-Marie Arouet (Voltaire)

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Today, I finished my new farce, “Philosophus,” a project of great meaning to me and also an unexpected and very fulfilling gem. I say this because I wrote a version of this play many, many moons ago (about 17+ years) when I was still discovering my voice as a playwright and undergoing many challenges in the process. It was one of the first plays I ever wrote – and, dare I say, it probably wasn’t that good. The subject matter stayed with me, however, so I suddenly decided to take a stab at the storyline again after completing my recent play “Leave It To Ms. Minor.” Four weeks later, I have a completed draft of the play, of which I am very proud. I have to say I have never written a play with such ease as this one. There were hardly any bumps on the road and the entire process was very smooth. Let us hope that same ease suggests it is naturally worthy of the stage!!

Briefly, Philosophus” is a two-act, screwball comedy about the egregiously self-righteous philosopher Voltaire and the bizarre escapades surrounding his flight from the court of Frederick II, King of Prussia, from whom he stole a sensitive, personal manuscript of poems. Determined to embarrass the monarch in revenge for an unfortunate falling-out, Voltaire finds his journey to France rudely halted in the city of Frankfurt by the intriguingly Hitlerian Baron von Freytag, representative of the Prussian King. Before too long, the Baron’s over-eagerness to obey his master’s wishes and the enormity of Voltaire’s ego combine to create a purely comedic kind of chaos, which becomes all the more ludicrous by the addition of a money-hungry German shrew, two slightly dim-witted, look-a-like servants, and Voltaire’s buxom, sex-obsessed niece, who fancies herself an ingénue.

You can check out a longer synopsis and a sample of the work on the My Works page of my website!

“Leave It to Ms. Minor”

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I have recently finished a relatively final draft of a new play – “Leave It to Ms. Minor.” The play concerns the odd, ambiguous, and controversial relationship between an aging television star and his younger, headstrong, domineering companion.

Groucho Marx with Erin FlemingThe play was inspired by the controversial relationship between famed comedian Groucho Marx and his companion Erin Fleming, who constantly shadowed Groucho in his final eight years of life. Fleming was either praised or loathed by Groucho’s friends and family and became a polarizing figure in the Groucho Marx story. Some view her as the mastermind of Groucho’s late-life resurrection, while others see her as being an exploitive and leech-like hanger-on.

I have been working on the play for many months now and am pleased with its current state. This is the first play I have completed mainly through commuting in the train back and forth to New York City!

Take a look at the sample on my My Works page!

Thank You, Adirondack Plays

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I learned today that my play “Encore, Encore” is going to be included in a new play anthology sponsored by the new publishing group Adirondack Plays.

Adirondack Plays bills itself as a group helping to connect directors across the United States with exciting and valuable new theatrical new work. Those directors who do want to produce new work typically have to send out a submission call that may solicit a large number of responses – the vast majority of them unusable. Adirondack Plays seeks to remove the intense work involved in trudging through a whole host of new plays so that directors can find what they need with greater ease.

The group itself is a new addition to the theatrical scene and founded by a professional publisher of marketing and educational material. There will be a number of different anthologies in the series: “Mostly Female,” “Social Justice,” “LBGTQ,” “Black Box,” High School One Acts,” “For Churches,” and “Award-Winning.” “Encore, Encore” is being included in the “Black Box” anthology. The anthologies won’t be available until roughly the middle of next year.

Many thanks to Adirondack Plays for their faith in my work!

Thanks to Elitch Gardens!

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What a sublime pleasure it was to attend the staged reading yesterday of my long-lasting play “Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room!” I arrived in Denver on Friday evening and attended the reading that night. I also had the opportunity to explore the fascinating city of Denver and its surrounding suburbs.

On my travels, I took this picture of the beautiful Historic Elitch Gardens Theater, nestled snugly between luxury condos in the wonderful West Highlands area of Denver:

Elitch ColinAnd look what I found posted on one of the front doors:

Eitch PosterAnd, ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, what a lovely program:

Elitch ProgramThe play was directed by the lovely Bev Newcomb-Madden, who I had the great joy of meeting in person on the night of the show. (Bev and I had previously talked over the phone about the play.) Bev managed to find a great cast for the reading. I was extremely impressed with the performance of the actors and actresses in what is actually a dense, difficult play to perform. The actors brought tremendous power to their roles – especially the two female characters.

Thanks again to festival producer Gavin Mayer for his leadership and the wonderful opportunity to have my play performed!

I wish the best of luck to the Historic Elitch Gardens Theater as it continues its renovations over the succeeding years!

Great articles about Elitch!

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There are some great articles and news pieces that have been published in the Denver area about the Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre and their New Works Festival.

You can also go here to see some pictures from the first day of the festival!

Colorado, here I come!!

Live theatre back at Elitch!

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My play “Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room” is being given a staged reading this upcoming weekend at Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre in Denver as part of their New Works Festival!

The festival will mark the long-awaited and much-desired return of live theater to a respected theatrical landmark after decades and decades of undeserved and undesired retirement.

Check out this great article about the New Works Festival for more information!

“The New Works Festival will be held from Aug. 20-22, and it will mark the long-awaited return of live theatre to the actual Elitch Theatre stage. The goal of the festival is to discover strong stories and foster them from the beginning stages to an eventual mainstage production. The top two productions as chosen by audiences and an invited selection committee will continue to be workshopped. In the third year of the festival, one work will be presented as a fully produced world premiere as part of the Elitch Theatre’s 2017 season programming.”

See you there!

Cast for “Fifteen Men”

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The Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre has announced the cast for the upcoming staged reading of my play “Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room.” The play will be read at 6pm on August 22, 2015 at the Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre.

The cast is as follows:

  • Warren G. Harding — T. David Rutherford
  • Florence Kling Harding — Alex Ryer
  • Nan Britton — Maggie Sczekan
  • Harry M. Daugherty — Mark Rubald
  • Ensemble Man — Gregory Price

A special thanks to the Dramatists Play Service, who are helping to sponsor the event!

Dramatists Play ServiceYou can read the full announcement here!