The new comedy from Crowded Kitchen Players, "Corner Booth" is dedicated to the proposition that "Evil was invented by humans without any need of help from Demons."The show will be performed with an in-person audience at The Charles A. Brown IceHouse in Bethlehem, PA, June 4 - 13.
SYNOPSISEllie Snyder (Trish Cipoletti), Sycamore County Executive, takes up residence in the corner booth of a secluded pub where she has been summoned to meet regional power broker and political party boss, Molly Kessler (Pamela Wallace). Its Friday Happy Hours, and it is at this pub that decisions of great social consequence are brokered over bottomless glasses of cheap merlot, craft beers, and Old Fashioneds garnished with Luxardo Maraschino Cherries on the stem.
Ellie is a prized representative of the fiscally conservative majority of her county, notorious for her disdain toward public schools, reproductive rights, gay marriage, gun control, and any kind of government assistance programs for substance abusers, persons with mental illness, children, the elderly, the homeless, poor people, people of just about any color, pretty much everyone who could benefit with a little help at public expense¦ except, of course, the rich.
The pub is owned and operated by a gracious and accommodating young man, Todd (Brian Wendt), whom Ellie quickly measures up as ripe for her abuse and at whom she directs her most withering complaints and debasing observations.
The County DA, Carl Armstead (David Oswald), shows up with a public defender, Marsha Stevens (Melissa Dorflinger), who has just lost a high profile criminal case to him, and they are soon joined by two common pleas judges, Susan Marino (Sharon Ferry) and Ed Thompson (Bruce Brown) who blithely discuss their harsh, quick-on-the-draw criminal court sentencing practices aimed at young, Hispanic defendants.
Molly finally arrives, accompanied by her daughter, Heather (Dawn Daignault), who has spend most of her developmental years bouncing from one Malibu rehab center to another and enjoying her parents considerable influence to keep her out of the state penal system, and followed almost immediately by Anthony Simonetti (Scott VanNortwick), a developer of juvenile detention facilities in this part of the Commonwealth. Molly joins Ellie in the corner booth and begins courting her to run for higher office, querying her on a series of topical issues that call for Ellies utter lack of human compassion. Ellie, however, is interested if and only if that office about to be dangled before her is "Governor".
A group of highly agitated men and women(Carla Thew, Susan Burnett, Brian MacDara Mullaney, Chris Donahue) burst into the pub and begin verbally provoking the judges and the developer. It seems their sons and daughters have been arrested and convicted of relatively harmless crimes, including truancy and simple vandalism, and sentenced without due process to considerable time in Tonys detention facilities.
Tempers erupt, charges are leveled, fights break out, evangelicals spout endless Biblical chapters and verse, and police offciers (Billy Erlacher) and inspectors (Donald M. Swan Jr) are called, as the night begins to spiral drunkenly toward chaos.
And the only people in the room who stand a chance of keeping things under control are Carl, the DA, and Todd, the pubs hapless, helpless, hopeless host.
The play is written and directed by Ara Barlieb. Original music is produced and performed by Ron Palos, Greg Tocci, Sy Kipp, Tom Epstein.
The language of the script is coarse, at times, and the subject matter is mature and often gritty.
Crowded Kitchen Players is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has produced 89 shows since 2000 at The IceHouse (Bethlehem), McCooles (Quakertown), Theatre Outlet (Allentown) and Mauch Chunk Opera House (Jim Thorpe). Most recently, CKPs latest play, "Dogcatcher" was filmed in seven episodes for Live from IceHouse Tonight and can be seen by visiting its website.
TICKETS AND SHOWTIMESThe IceHouse is located at 56 River Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018. Parking is free.Show times are June 4, 5, 11, 12 at 800PM, and June 5, 13 at 200PM.For tickets please visit www.ckplayers.comAll seats are $15.
CKP will follow CDC, Commonwealth, and City masking and distancing guidelines and restrictions in place at the time of performance.