OUR 2018-2019 SEASON
“HAPPY FAMILIES ARE ALL ALIKE; EVERY UNHAPPY FAMILY IS UNHAPPY IN ITS OWN WAY.”
—Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
This season, Seat of the Pants is proud to present three plays, all of which focus in on families at “crossroads” in life. A husband and wife embarking on a major surgery. Adult children figuring out how to care for their aging mother. Three generations of an oddball clan examining whether they’re fated to fail or if they can break free and become something new.
Alternately poignant and hilarious, lyrical and strident, heartwarming and heartbreaking, each story promises to pose questions and suggest answers about what we owe to one another, keep audiences laughing and listening, and maybe just help you work out some family drama of your own.
SEAT OF THE PANTS
2018–2019 SEASON PASS
MOLLY SWEENEY, by Brian Friel
THE END OF THE TOUR, by Joel Drake Johnson
SMOKEFALL, by Noah Haidle
MOLLY SWEENEY
BY BRIAN FRIEL
November 9-18, 2018
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM / Sundays at 2 PM
The Dietz Theater at Weathervane Playhouse
1301 Weathervane Lane, Akron
THE END OF THE TOUR
BY JOEL DRAKE JOHNSON
March 29/30 and April 5/6, 2019
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM
Sunday, March 31, 2019, at 2 PM
Saturday, April 6,2019, at 2 PM
Pilgrim Congregational Church in Tremont,
2592 West 14th Street, Cleveland
SMOKEFALL
August 2-11, 2019
Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM
Sundays at 2 PM
The Playground at Ensemble Theatre,
2843 Washington Boulevard
Cleveland Heights 44118
PAST PRODUCTIONS
THE CHRISTIANS
by Lucas Hnath
August 2017
“Lucas Hnath’s writing doesn’t succumb to preachy histrionics, melodramatic propaganda, or obtuse Christian apologetics. What we get instead is the uncanny sensation that these actors aren’t really acting so much as offering an unabashedly honest look at the complex reality of ideological impasses. Their sincerity is so palpable and disarming that we become not merely passive witnesses to a church’s plight, but engaged, sympathetic neighbors sharing the innermost spiritual struggles of a once harmonious community. Church as microcosm of our turbulent times?” (Tom Wachunas, ArtWach)
CHESAPEAKE
by Lee Blessing
June 2017
“Mr. Joseph IS the play, as it’s a one-man affair. So it would be a hollow compliment to say you can’t take your eyes off him. There’s nothing else to look at in this production – no set, no props, no lighting changes. This nearly two-hour (with an intermission) monologue is delivered in a black box. And yet it explodes with all the complicated colors and textures of clashing ideas and personalities. Joseph is a proverbial and otherwise riveting man of a thousand faces (and voices to match) who brings Blessing’s tale – maddeningly compelling and preposterous – to cantankerous and hilarious life. He does so with memorable panache, and an astonishingly keen ability to balance both comedic absurdities and searing drama with startling credibility.” (Tom Wachunas, ArtWach)
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
by Jason Miller
May 2017
“Only five minutes in, as each perfectly-cast man performs his role with both gusto and the finest nuance, audience members forget that this is a staged reading. We don’t even notice the scripts in the actors’ hands because, quite frankly, there are too many other fascinating dynamics occurring onstage.” (Albert Clay, The Voice)
THE BEST MAN
by Gore Vidal
August 2016
“All eleven members of this excellent cast are remarkably adept at articulating the play’s uneasy balance between biting sarcasm and credible human drama….Stephanie Cargill has crafted a remarkably poignant rendering of dignity amid woundedness, tempered with a measure of emotional detachment both chilling and sad in her role of Mrs. Russell.” (Tom Wachunas, ArtWach)
PICNIC
by William Inge
August 2015
“Once again, Seat of the Pants demonstrates remarkable acuity for drawing out compelling realism from cast members. They truly own their roles, imbuing Inge’s language - which on paper can sometimes seem hoakey and histrionic – with visceral authenticity. Additionally, The Black Box Theatre is made all the more intimate by Micah Harvey’s artful set that cuts across the floor so that we in the audience, viewing it from two sides, feel like neighbors peering into the shared back yard where most of the story unfolds.” (Tom Wachunas, ArtWach)
GOD OF CARNAGE
by Yasmina Reza
October 2012
“And, oh, how fun to watch this foursome transform and unravel from the safety of one’s seat! A superb cast… this is some of the finest ensemble acting I’ve ever seen on a local stage, brimming with energy and inspired details that seem utterly of the moment… This terrifically juicy and entertaining production deserves to be seen.” (Dan Kane, The Canton Repository)