Whether you went to see the tragic love story, the epic journey of self-discovery, or the comedy about a Russian pianist and his mix up with The Mafia, the Playwright’s Showcase kept audience members entertained for three nights in a row with its lineup of plays written by PSU students and alumni.
The Showcase featured three different plays written and directed by three different people: The Angry Tomato (Abbie Morin ’12), The Devil’s Spit (Luke Meierdiercks ’13), and Tickling the Ivory (Anna Smith ’12).
The first play under the lights of the Student Recital Hall was Morin’s, Angry Tomato. In this play, the two characters, a young couple that has moved into an apartment together, agree that they will always be young, fun, and in love with each other. Unfortunately, after living together for some time they begin to struggle. They are forced to reevaluate their relationship after they face the challenges that come with growing up and having different dreams and diverging paths. The two lovers agree that that they will always love one another, but they can never go back to the way they once were if they are to follow their own paths.
The next play, Meierdierck’s Devil’s Spit, was about a man named Hugo. Hugo is a wandering orphan after his parents died in a fire, and he carries with him his bags of bravery, righteousness, hope, and other such virtues. His goal is to find a destination that he won’t know of until he gets there. Hugo meets many strange people and creatures on his travels, and in the end, his bag of freedom has been stolen, his bag of hope diminished, and his bags of righteousness and bravery plundered as well. He is left with only his bag of compassion, but he realizes by the end of the play that compassion is all he ever needed in order to be happy.
The last play to take the stage was Smith’s comedy, Tickling the Ivory. The plot line of this play was about a Russian piano player named Serge. His poor understanding of the English language and inability to recognize sexual advances when he sees them result in Serge getting mixed up (hilariously) with the promiscuous girlfriend of a New York mafia member. Several side-splitting jokes and sexual innuendos later, Serge comes face to face with the gang members. With the help of his witless personality (and someone running to get the police) the men end up behind bars, and Serge gets the girl.
The Playwright’s Showcase was a big success, and yet again, PSU was able to show the talent and creativity of a few of its students and alumni during this year’s homecoming weekend.