By Bill Hirschman
South Florida theater — once painted as the last bastion overrun with Neil Simon in dinner theater – steadily has built a reputation as the genesis for the birth, development and public unveiling of boundary-pushing new work.
Over the next few months, Palm, Beach Dramaworks and Theatre Lab based at FAU will be producing full productions and public readings that will give playwrights a chance to spot where to fine tune their work based on the actors’ on-stage performances and the audiences reactions to specific sections.
In the past, some of these go on to full productions the next season or the one after.
Theatre Lab’s schedule over three weekend in April will be listed in another article.
But Dramaworks’ seventh annual Perlberg Festival of New Plays ushers in 2025 with readings of five invigorating scripts still in develop will be held Jan. 17-19 with each production followed by a post-performance discussion with the audience.
Tickets can be purchased online at boxoffice@palmbeachdramaworks.org, or by calling the box office at (561) 514-4042 x2. Tickets are $35 per play, or $100 for all five plays. Located at the Don & Ann Brown Theatre in the heart of downtown West Palm Beach, at 201 Clematis Street.
Friday, January 17 at 3 p.m.
Vineland Place
by Steven Dietz
Directed by Mark Perlberg
For young writer Henry Sanders, it seemed like the perfect job: finishing the long-awaited final book of the novelist who was his hero. Hired by the novelist’s widow, Henry finds himself instead in the midst of a rapidly developing mystery. Vineland Place is an intimate thriller, filled with dangerous surprises to the final page.
Friday, January 17 at 7:30 p.m.
Class C
by Chaz T. Martin
Directed by Jessica Holt
In a future where American citizens have government-assigned classifications, identity politics and old party lines are set to ensnare a Homeland Security agent on the run. Set off the grid in the northern woods, Class C reimagines who can (or should) be trusted in a world built on blind loyalty.
Saturday, January 18 at 3 p.m.
The Mallard
by Vincent Delaney
Directed by J. Barry Lewis
Freya and Gillian are teachers who have offended their school board and lost their jobs. Davis and Reagan are yard sale fanatics in search of a priceless antique duck decoy. What follows is a fierce, funny, and escalating battle over a symbol that has wildly different meanings – intersecting the couples in a journey that far surpasses the quest for treasure.
Saturday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m.
In Two
by Chelsea Marcantel
Directed by Hannah Wolf
Old and new magic converge in a decrepit vaudeville theatre, in this sharp exploration of stagecraft, second chances, and the art of cutting a woman in half.
Sunday, January 19 at 3 p.m.
Alba
by Alejandro Rodriguez
Directed by KJ Sanchez
Inspired by Federico García Lorca’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba, Alba follows a strong-willed Cuban matriarch trying to hold onto control of her house in the face of myriad encroaching forces, including newfangled technology, impatient debtors, and a young suitor with suspicious motives. Narrated by her grandchild and set in working-class Miami, the play seeks to make sense of the unspoken secrets that led to a tragic family event.
