As many of you know, I grew up in Maine. As I always like to say, we had everything that you would have in a big city…but we had ONE of it. One YMCA, one library, one movie theater and one playhouse. If you didn’t like what that one place was doing, you were out of luck. When I came down here, I was so excited to discover that our area has such a plethora of wonderful options for watching live theater!

On Friday night, I went to see Scotland Road performed by the Skippack Playcrafters. And guess who I watched it with? Our own Miss Barbara. Barbara and I discovered that we both liked seeing plays and generally didn’t have anyone to see them with, so we have made it a point to see the Playcrafters plays together. Scotland Road is an interesting play-it was a last minute substitution for the Playcrafters, so I think the minimal staging necessary was appealing. The play starts with a nebulous “modern day” setting: a woman is found sitting on an iceburg in the the North Atlantic. When she is picked up, she only says one word: “Titanic!” So, has she survived 90 years on the ice? What is her story? In short, what the heck is going on?

The acting by the cast is, frankly, superb, but I do have to say that the plot was pretty weird. At the end, I looked over at Barbara and she had her lips pursed in a most Miss Barbara-esque look of deep suspicion. Still, the play was worth watching for the acting alone.

On Sunday, I went to the, alas, last performance of Rehearsal for Murder at the Forge Theatre in Phoenixville.  This is a play adapted from the 1982 movie of the same name. I’d never watched the movie, so the twists and turns of the murder mystery were delightful and the denouement took me completely by surprise. Fantastic acting-not that I would have expected any less from the Forge.

As for plays coming up, I am super excited to see Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at the Barn Playhouse in Jeffersonville (West Norriton). And, in an interesting note, both Skippack Playcrafters and the Forge are doing Rocky Horror Picture Show in October for your Halloween fun! Costumes welcome and the Playcrafters even has a list of welcome items, such as newspapers, glowsticks, party hats and noisemakers.

So, next weekend, take in some culture and try out a local playhouse!