At month's end, Madison's Broom Street Theatre presents the premiere of Tracy M. Smith's Lekker Mann. Billed as a "disaster drama," the play involves the lives of a group of 30-somethings dealing with life and love in the midst of a possible Prion pandemic. The disease in question would be the result of a protein that got misfiled and became infectious. From such tiny imperfections grow some pretty intense problems. Mad Cow disease is an example.
But this is also billed as a visceral drama. And there's every reason to think that it is executed well because Tracy M. Smith, who is better known to Milwaukee audiences as Tracy Doyle is the co-founder of the Milwaukee-born Insurgent Theatre . . . a theatre company which has since moved with its co-founder Ben Turk out of state. Another angle that makes this interesting is that Tracy is a microbiologist with the University of Wisconsin at Madison. So while the play may focus on people searching for peace in Madison, rest assured that the backstory has been meticulously considered by someone with more practical lab experience than most playwrights.
Lekker Mann runs May 31st - June 22nd at Madison's Broom Street Theatre on 1119 Williamson Street. For ticker reservations, call 608-244-8338.
