Veteran musical performer and director, as well as long-time managing director of the esteemed Pennsylvania Playhouse, Rody Gilkeson makes his Crowded Kitchen Players' directorial debut with "The Spectre of Death", a funky comedy about the fictional death metal band, "The Crypt", who try to re-unite in defiance of advancing age, declining health, and chronic moral turpitude.
"Spectre" will be performed at Between the Lines Studio Theatre September 22 through October 1.
"The Spectre Of Death" is centered around Craig "Spec" Czury, the putative leader of a 1990s death metal band, The Crypt, that has long-ago aged out of relevance.
"The Spectre of Death" is the most recent of several plays by Bethesda, Maryland-based playwright/composer Charlie Barnett that have been produced and staged by Crowded Kitchen Players. 
Six years ago, Barnett's "Twelveness" premiered to national acclaim as a CKP production directed by the late George B. Miller, and was followed by the religiously antagonistic comedy, "Him and Jim"; a staging of "19: The Musical", about the passing of the women's suffrage amendment in 1919; and a reading of Barnett's "The Last Days of Cleopatra" with the author/composer performing the songs behind CKP's actors.
"The Spectre of Death" tells the story of Spec and his old bandmates, who are all sixty years old and living diminished lives in suburban Las Vegas. The only reason they can still perform is that their Kiss-like make up and costumes obscure their otherwise apparent physical--- and musical--- decline.
The problem is they simply have no more shows to play. The music world has passed them by.
And since the death of their bandmate, Stevie Skulls, the bands leader, Spec Czury has lost the will to look for work and is living off the royalties of the bands # 10 hit from 1998, We Are Gonna Rock You To Death.
His bandmates, Styx, Roger and his manager, Rory are in a similar place of mourning and lassitude.
Spec keeps himself adrift in alcohol and one night stands. When one of his one-night stands, Delilah, stays longer than expected, Spec and his assistant , Cassie, receive a letter from a person claiming to be Specs daughter.
Spec wants no part of this. But Cassie, thinking that this might be a spiritual opportunity for the emotionally stunted Spec, responds to the letter and surreptitiously invites Ricki Roberts, Specs daughter, to visit.
Spec is suddenly thrust into a new world of important entanglements, one with the ever surprising Delilah, and one with his new twenty year old biological daughter.
All this collides with a rare offer of a gig that could launch the band back into prominence.
The cast features long-time Lehigh Valley favorite Mike Daniels, as Craig (Spec) Czury, 60ish, alcoholic, and unashamedly still womanizing. He lives mostly on the royalties from The Crypts one top ten hit from 1998, "We Will Rock You To Death."
Daniels is joined by Micah Henning as Joey(Styx) Panuchio, 60ish, who sustains himself by teaching drums at 'Bach to Rock' in Las Vegas; Jerry Brucker, playing Rory MacManus, 60ish, and also a high school friend of Spec and Styxs. He is now a fully competent adult and has made a good living from management in the music business; Donna White, as Cassie Spenser, mid-40s. She was a one-time lover of Specs and a groupie and has managed to find a good life for herself, including a firefighter husband and children. She still commits a fair amount of time to being Specs assistant; Elizabeth Marsh-Gilkeson, in the role of Delilah Jacobs, mid-40s. She looks much younger and has spent an inordinate amount of time following bands in her life. She comes home with Spec as a groupie and ends up much more than that; Dawn Daignault, as Pam Roberts, 40ish. She was a fan of The Crypt as a 19 year-old. She had a one night stand with Spec which (unknown to Spec) produced a child, Ricki; Alana Weirbach, as Ricki Roberts, 20s, Pam and Spec's daughter; Matt Redline plays Roger Hanrahan, 60ish. He was a high school friend of Specs and Styxs and Rorys. He is the bassist in The Crypt. He now has a family and teaches music in a suburban Las Vegas middle school; Peter McKeon plays Austin Smith, mid-20s. He is the nephew of Delilah. He is a very good guitarist. and is currently taking a gap year from Emory University; and the long-time WMUH radio host and regional actor/playwright Bruce Brown, as Dave ( and EMT #2/Emcee).
"The Spectre of Death" is Crowded Kitchen Players' 99th theatrical production since their founding in 2000 at Mauch Chunk Opera House.
Performances are at 730PM on September 22, 23, 29, 30 and at 200PM on September 24 and October 1.
Parking is free in the lot across the alley from the theater.
Between the Lines Studio Theatre is located at 725 N. 15th St, Allentown, PA 18102.
All tickets are $20.
For tickets and additional information, please visit ckplayers.com or call 610-704-6974.