APRIL 12, 19 & 26 - BANYAN BECOMING

The Banyan Theater Company presents its series of staged readings of new plays by emerging playwrights.  Be part of the theatrical process as these plays takes shape through discussions with the actors, playwrights and directors after each performance.

April 12 - "Four Middle-Aged Jewish Men Discuss Love, Death, and the Inescapable Presence of God" by Mark E. Leib
Thirty years after they roomed together at the University of Michigan, four best friends (Dan Bright, Steve DuMouchel, Bill Karnovsky, Paul Potenza) come together for a wedding. As they wait for the rehearsal dinner to begin, they speak their hearts about love, sex, aging, death and religion (and the lack of it). A serio-comic look at middle-aged men and the secrets only the closest of friends can share.

April 19 - "Legacy of Light" by Karen Zacarias
“Legacy of Light” unfolds simultaneously in 18th century France and contemporary America, where two women are each pushing the boundaries of physics and grappling with issues of motherhood. It cleverly interweaves the troubles of historical figures with modern-day fictional characters in an intelligent comedy that balances broad humor with concepts of philosophy and physics. Featuring Seva Anthony, Petrus Antonius, Kevin Rose, KT Curran, Katherine Michelle Tanner and Kip Taisey.

This historical figure upon which this play is based is Gabrielle Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, marquise du Chatelet, who lived from 1706-1749. She was a mathematician, physicist and author during the Age of Enlightenment. Her crowning achievement is considered to be her translation of Isaac Newton's "Principia Mathematica." Voltaire, one of her lovers, declared in a letter to his friend that du Chatelet was "a great man whose only fault was being a woman."

"Legacy of Light" was selected by the American Theatre Critics Association as a finalist for the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award.

April 26 - "Boss Tom!" by Jack Gilhooley
After a year in federal prison, Tom Pendergast, the most successful – and corrupt – political boss in American history returns to his Kansas City mansion to find that it’s been abandoned by his disgraced wife and children. Ignored by his former Democratic party allies, President FD Roosevelt and Senator Harry Truman, he faces the sad reality of a darkly isolated future. “Boss Tom!” captures Pendergast’s humor, his tyranny, and his growing imbalance as he tries to make sense of his empire in ashes. Dan Higgs portrays Tom Pendergast.

8:00 pm at the Jane B. Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for Performing Arts

Tickets: $15 each or 3-play series for $40
Cash or check only. Click here for a ticket order form.
Get your tickets early - last year we sold out!