This November, Pink Banana Theatre stages a production of a contemporary exploration into the nature of identity. In an increasingly complex world of social networking, personality and desire have become very liquid. Carlos Murrillo’s Dark Play or Stories For Boys casts a light into the fragmented world of a 14-year-old boy on a journey to discover what love is. UW-Milwaukee BFA acting student Nolen Borne plays the 14 year-old whose need for love is matched only by his need to control things. Recent UW-Parkside student Brenna Kempf plays the dual role of the anti-hero’s girlfriend and the online construct he has created out of his own fantasies. Nate Press, Kelly Coffey and Tim Palacek round out the cast in a variety of other roles.
One might expect that a play taking place, in large part, online might be a bit claustrophobic, but Murrillo’s script is an intimate exploration of what happens when both the world inside and beyond the internet collide. Pink Banana stages the drama in one of the most intimate studio theaters in town, the Arcade Theatre in the Underground Collaborative. The intensity of the drama will be brought strikingly close to the audience in the cozy space.
Dark Play or Stories For Boys runs Nov. 1-16, at the Arcade Theatre in the Underground Collaborative, 161 W. Wisconsin Ave. For tickets, visit brownpapertickets.com/event/477737.
Theater Happenings
- Pius XI will stage a dual exploration of Shakespeare’s The Tempest with productions both of the classic text and a new text inspired by it and written by Milwaukee’s Fly Steffens. #LaTempestad is a collaboration between Pius XI students and Steffens touching on contemporary phenomena from texting to cyber bullying. The Tempest will be performed Nov. 1, 3 and 9 and #LaTempestad on Nov. 2, 8 and 10. For tickets, call 414-290-0204.
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- Early this coming month, Theater RED stages the world premiere of a new play by Jared McDaris. A Thousand Times Good Night retells 1,001 Arabian Nights as realized in a Shakespearian five-act play that will be staged Nov. 7-16, in the Studio Theatre at the Sunset Playhouse, 800 Elm Grove Road, Nov. For tickets, visit theaterred.com.
TAGS: Pink Banana, Russ Bickerstaff, Carlos Murrillo, Dark Play or Stories For Boys, Nolen Borne, Brenna Kempf, Nate Press, Kelly Coffey, Tim Palacek, Arcade Theatre, Underground Collaborative
TAGS Happenings: Pius XI, Shakespeare, The Tempest, Fly Steffens, #LaTempestad, Pius XI, Theater RED, Jared McDaris, A Thousand Times Good Night, 1,001 Arabian Nights, Sunset Playhouse
