The third production of the 2016-2017 season at The Stagecrafters, Bruce Graham’s biting dark comedy, ANY GIVEN MONDAY, will open on Friday, February 3, 2017. As the lights come up, we see Lenny, a middle-aged, mild-mannered schoolteacher whose wife Risa has suddenly left him, brooding in his den, the remains of a pizza on the floor and the movie To Kill a Mockingbird heard on the TV. Lenny’s longtime friend, Mickey, enters, a blustering, loud-mouthed, politically incorrect transit worker, who has an inspired, but legally dubious plan to get back Lenny’s estranged wife. This decidedly black contemporary comedy-satire takes on a heady range of issues, from racism and violence to religion and free will, leaving the audience a little discomfited, yet at the same time roaring with laughter!
Bruce Graham (b. 1956), Philadelphia native, began his career as a playwright with Burkie in 1984 at the Philadelpia Festival Theatre for New Plays (PFT). He has since authored some two dozen plays, performed all around the country (for example, Moon Over the Brewery, Belmont Avenue Social Club, Minor Demons, Coyote on a Fence, According to Goldberg, Something Intangible, Rizzo). The Stagecrafters has produced a number of his plays, most recently Something Intangible in 2015. Any Given Monday premiered at Philadelphia’s Theatre Exile in 2010 (co-produced with Act II Playhouse) to critical praise; and during 2011 it enjoyed an extended run in New York City, receiving such accolades as: “A poignant, funny, and emotionally intense play that explores the limits of loyalty, fidelity, and love.” (Eleanor J. Bader).
Production performance dates are February 3 thru February 19: Thurs, Fri, Sat @ 8 pm, Sun @ 2 pm. Tickets are available at $21.00 Online (no service charge), $25.00 At-door. (Thu. & Fri. eve performances 2-for-$32 Online, 2-for-$35 At-door). Students with valid ID $15.00, Seniors $22 (At-door, any performance). Groups of 15 or more are offered a reduced rate of $15.00 a ticket, paid in advance. The box office opens 45 minutes before each performance. For information call 215-247-8881; for reservations-direct call 215-247-9913. The theater is located in the heart of Chestnut Hill at 8130 Germantown Ave. Visit website for details: www.thestagecrafters.org.
Special NOTE: “Meet the Cast and Director” Q & A sessions will be held following the performance on Friday, Feb. 10. The playwright is scheduled to be in attendance for the performance and talk-back! All attendees at that performance are welcome to stay and join in the discussion.
Theater/Organization The Stagecrafters
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.thestagecrafters.org
Theater/Organization Address: 8130 Germantown Avenue Chestnut Hill Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19118 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (215) 247-8881
