Metropolitan Playhouse
Virtual Playhouse
Presents
A Screened Reading
of

THE POTBOILER
Written by Alice Gerstenberg

Featuring
MIKE DURKIN, SJ HANNAH, DAVID MURRAY JAFFE,
OLIVIA KILLINGSWORTH, JEN REDDISH,
JAY ROMERO, & TOM STAGGS

Special Guest: DOROTHY CHANSKY, Professor of Theater History,
Theory, & Criticism, Texas Tech University

Directed by ALEX ROE

Scenic Design: VINCENT GUNN

www.metropolitanplayhouse.org/virtualplayhouse

May 23, 2020 at 8 p.m.

Ah, “the theatah”. Such a rarified, scripted world, full of snippy attitude by playwrights and actors, even those of questionable talent. Thus we witness Mr. Sud, pretentious hack, oversee a rehearsal of his latest masterwork. His young sidekick is there to study the genius as he molds yet another hit.

Like actors since the dawn of time, the cast is not enchanted by a rehearsal where the writer is in charge. They give it their best, or try to, while Sud constantly interrupts with script changes and orders on how to read their lines. Stronger! Eat the scenery! Make them applaud! Beyond histrionics to another dimension as yet unnamed. The Villain! The Heroine! Then…the guns!

This one-act satire was written in 1923, but its point is sharp and cleanly skewers the theatrical world even today. Some things never change. Well-acted and lots of fun. A perfect fit for Zoom/YouTube.

The current Metropolitan Playhouse series revives plays from the early 20th century (“new old plays”). They remain amazingly relevant, especially with the interactive “talkbacks” at the end. For this production, Professor Dorothy Chansky provided a tantalizing biography of author Alice Gerstenberg and insight into the times in which she lived. Gerstenberg was famous in her day for her feminist stance and prolific writing. Although she has faded from view, her work still hits the target directly in its pretentious face.

A lovely evening indeed.

-Karen D’Onofrio-