Two Playwrights In April

Late last month, The Boulevard Theatre opened the Midwest premiere of It’s Your Mother with a pair of performances attended by the show’s playwrights Durante & Tuxill. It was interesting seeing the show knowing that they were in the audience and their attendance at the talkback added an interesting dynamic to the evening.

Boulevard Theatre’s It’s Your Mother runs through May 9^th.

This month also features a pair of shows that will be attended by their playwrights elsewhere in town.

Next weekend, Next Act Theatre’s production of The Value of Names will be visited by the show’s playwright  Jeffrey Sweet. The prolific author of over a dozen different feature plays and numerous other things will be attending the April 17^th and 18^th  performances of The Value of Namesan acclaimed script he wrote a little less than 30 years ago. “There will be talkbacks with the playwright for sure after Sunday’s [April 18^th] performance,” says Next Act PR rep Matt Kemple, adding that there may also be a talkback after the Saturday performance, The details were still being worked out as of last Friday.

Next Act Theatre’s The Value of Names runs through May 2^nd

And later –on this month, Chicago-based playwright  Mickle Maher will be attending the Milwaukee premiere of his ambitious and offbeat drama/comedy Spirits To Enforce  with Youngblood Theatre.

I had a chance to talk with the show’s director  Michael Cotey earlier today. It was a really interesting discussion about a show that is very, very dichotomous in a great many ways. It's weird and there's a depth beyond the weirdness. This just might be one of the most  conceptually interesting plays to make it to local stages this season. The exact dates that Maher will be attending are still being worked out. 

A preview of the show runs in the April 22^nd issue of the Shepherd-Express. Transcripts from my interview with Cotey will run here that week.

Youngblood Theatre’s Spirits To Enforce runs April 22^nd through May 9^th at the Miller & Campbell Costume Service on 907 South First Street.