Fringe Theater Opens Season With Alice’s Parlor

Fringe Theater Key West opens its 2016-17 season with its annual fundraiser Alice’s Parlor in the Parish Hall at St Paul’s, Nov 16-20 at 7pm. This collection of short plays, written by Alice Gerstenberg and her friends, is acted and directed by your friends!

Six directors and 23 actors present short plays written 100 years ago. Is it surprising that the themes are still relevant today?

“We began producing Alice’s Parlor to showcase the plays of this amazing but little known playwright from Chicago, Alice Gerstenberg,” Janet Bengel, Fringe’s board president explains. “People loved it! So each year we would choose more of her plays. This year we decided to expand our concept and include short plays by Alice’s contemporaries.”

Many of the plays in this year’s Alice’s Parlor debuted a hundred years ago with the Provincetown Players, an influential troupe of young writers whose work would define American Theatre. In a very Fringe fashion, the Players’ first stage was the veranda of a cottage! The year was 1915. A significant number of playwrights at that time were women, giving voice to the changing roles and fiery politics.

Alice’s Parlor opens with the Pulitzer Prize-winning Susan Keating Glaspell’s play “Trifles.” It debuted in 1916 in Provincetown and was based on true events Glaspell encountered while covering a murder case as a young journalist. “Trifles” is directed by Annie Miners and features Rebecca Gleason, Jeanne Tindel, John McDonald, Don Bearden, and Bob Rowand.

“The Game” also debuted in Provincetown in 1916. Written by acclaimed journalist Louise Bryant (on whom the movie Reds was based), the play personifies the relationship between Life and Death as they throw the dice to win lives. “The Game” is directed by Deb Kik and features Deborah Jacobson, Mathias Malof, Morgan Fraga, and John Van Norden.

Susan Glaspell wrote “Woman’s Honor” in 1916, and the Provincetown Players premiered it the following year. A young man would rather hang than trade the identity of his lover for an alibi. “Woman’s Honor” is directed by Alicia Merel and features Diane May, Don Bearden, Donna Stabile, Joan Sullivan, John Van Norden, Maria Schmitt, Marisa Faraldo, and Monique Griffin.

“The Rescue” was written by Rita Creighton Smith in a workshop that included Eugene O’Neil. It was produced by the Harvard Drama Club in 1916 followed by the Provincetown Players. The play’s theme of inherited insanity is credited as the origin of O’Neil’s theme for Strange Interlude! “The Rescue” is directed by Karen Leonard and features Karen Grant, Susan Butler, and Deborah Snelgrove.

JM Barrie, the author of “The Twelve Pound Look,” is better known as the creator of Peter Pan. Written in 1914, this short play directly tackles the suffocating roles society assigns to women and the importance of autonomy gained through work. “The Twelve Pound Look” is directed by Richard Grusin and features Ellen Rickert, John McDonald, Stephanie Miller, and Traci Reynolds.

Alice Gerstenberg’s “The Illuminati in Drama Libre” is unlike any other play presented in any Alice’s Parlor. “The Surrealist Movement was gaining popularity in Paris, and this (very) short play was Alice’s experiment with surrealism,” says Rebecca Tomlinson, Fringe’s new Artistic Director. “Illuminati” is directed by Rebecca Tomlinson and features Alicia Merel and Don Beardon.

Will Alice herself be there to greet her parlor guests as in year’s past? “I suppose the audience will have to drop by for a visit to find out,” smiles Alicia Merel, the production’s coordinator.

 Alice’s Parlor runs Nov 16-20 at 7pm in the Parish Hall at St Paul’s Episcopal Church (401 Duval St). There is no parking on church property, though city parking is available near the church. Tickets can be purchased online at www.fringetheater.org or by calling 305-731-0581. Use code FRINGE20 at checkout and save 20% on your purchase (for any Fringe show). Limited Offer.

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