Inferno
The Inferno is based on the the true escapades of Chris Sherman’s travels in Italy.
Welcome to Florence, Italy! Ben and Annie Sussman are a middle aged couple on vacation in this fascinating city, but there are problems, it’s too hot to go out of their beautiful airbnb apartment and Ben is feeding his midlife crisis. Forced by the heat to spend the vacation reading and napping in bed, Ben’s angst about how he will spend his retirement years surface. In his hysteria to find a renewed purpose for the remainder of his life, he conjures up thoughts of going to Africa to help the poor, joining a think tank and even having another child! Annie is beginning to get concerned.
Two weeks into their one month “holiday”, enter Annie’s brother, Joey, and his fiancee, Karen. They have never been out of New Jersey and are eager to see as much of Florence as humanly possible. They are not too happy to learn the news that they are housebound due to the heat.
With tensions at the boiling point, the situation soon escalates, with expensive Italian tchotchkes shattering, the refrigerator door uncontrollably spewing ice, and one air conditioner after the other breaking down. The last fiery straw is when all of Tuscany is in a blackout, closing all hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.
If the heat doesn’t kill them, they may just kill each other. Will anyone survive The Inferno?
Full play reading: Here
Highlights: Here
Life Alert
Annie and Ben Sussman are a middle-aged couple living on the Upper West Side of New York City. Ben is a cardiologist with a busy practice, while Annie has just retired from 25 years of teaching writing. Their son, Alex, has moved to California, and they are experiencing their first pangs of freedom since they were first married 30 years ago.
With the demands of a full-time job behind her, Annie is committed to a long-lost dream of becoming a playwright. She has written a play and she is just starting to get some momentum with submissions to contests and festivals when tragedy strikes. Her mother, Rose, has taken a bad fall and must come to live with Ben and Annie. Annie sees this as having the curtain pulled down right in the middle of her second act.
Review: Here
Program: Here
Maladies
Winner of Best Play: CreateTheater/Prism Stage Company New Works Festival 2023
Jo Pisano is a lonely, panicky, neurotic, agoraphobe with a keen distrust of people. When disheveled widower Mel moves in next door looking for a friend, Jo wants none of it. However, that doesn’t stop her from becoming intrigued by the parade of female seniors coming and going from his apartment at all hours. Despite her adult son Danny’s warnings, like any good nosey neighbor, Jo jumps to conclusions and hilarious misunderstandings ensue, exposing secrets, prompting confessions and, in spite of all their maladies, ultimately leading to a lasting, deep friendship.