Shaw Comedy Opens Electric Theatre’s 17th Season

“A lifetime of happiness! No man alive could bear it; it would be hell on earth.” There is a curiously liberating quality in that phrase penned by George Bernard Shaw, playwright, music critic, political philosopher, and wit. Shaw had a habit of liberating minds with his trenchant observations on life, society, education, government, religion, war, and… well name it, he commented on it. And he commented so brilliantly, with such wit and fun, and with such a solid sense of fairness and affection for humanity, that he remains a favorite 125 years after his first play, and 60 years after his last. His plays are second only to those of Shakespeare in frequency of production on the English speaking stage.

Electric Theatre Company will present one of Shaw’s most beloved plays, Arms and the Man, as its first production of the 2008-09 season. The play previews September 17, 18 and 19, opens September 20 (with a post-show dance party), and plays through October 5 at the Electric Theatre, 326 Spruce Street on the second floor, Downtown Scranton.

Arms and the Man was first published in 1898 in a collection of Shaw’s work entitled “Plays Pleasant”, and it may indeed be the most pleasant of his comedies. But pleasant doesn’t mean that he resists applying his scalpel to dissect a number of scrappy issues. Arms and the Man is a romance that takes place during a ten day proxy war in 1885 between Austria and Russia, one that was actually fought by the Serbs and Bulgarians. A Swiss mercenary from the AustroSerbian army finds refuge in the bedroom of a young upper class Bulgarian lady. This tattered, worn, and frightened man hardly fits the heroic figure the young lady expects of a warrior, but when he complains of hunger the lady responds to his humanity and offers him chocolate creams; hardly grub a real soldier should enjoy, according to her romantic ideals. And to her horror, he devours them all and asks for more. That is the beginning of a play in which the characters explode illusions into dust and throw neat convention into a topsy-turvy mess. High romance is made to seem a mockery as base practicality takes on a romantic glow.

Arms and the Man is the first play that The Northeast Theatre is producing under its new name, Electric Theatre Company, and the first play to be produced involving the Theatre’s new resident artistic company. “We chose Arms and the Man because we love it and it fits the company beautifully,” explains producing artistic director, David Zarko. What the company didn’t know was that Arms and the Man was the play that launched The Northeast Theatre seventeen seasons ago. “That was just a wonderful serendipity,” says Zarko, ” and makes this new direction we’ve taken seem just right.”

The Theatre is taking a number of initiatives this season besides the new name. There’s the resident artistic company of five members who will work continuously for all 45 weeks of the season as actors, designers, teachers, and directors. In response to the tightening economy, ticket prices are going down to levels not seen since the 2004-05 season. The ever popular PlayPass is changing too. Always famous for its flexibility, it is now even more so. Use it like a debit-card to buy as many tickets as you want, whenever you want them, and save up to 40% on the cost. The web site at www.electrictheatre.org has been completely redesigned so that not only can you buy tickets and PlayPasses online, but can quickly find details and information on any of the Theatre’s many performances and programs. The Theatre itself has been redecorated, and new areas have been made public for receptions and parties. And when you attend, you’ll notice many more improvements and changes.

It all begins with previews of Arms and the Man by George Bernard Shaw on September 17. David Zarko directs, and the cast includes Resident Artistic Company members James Langan, Conor McGuigan, Mary Ethel Schmidt, and Heather Stuart. They are joined by New York actors Tom Patterson, Jim Fitzgerald, and Maura Malloy (who is a native of Scranton), and Griffin Conservatory graduate Pat Brogan. Marybeth Langdon is stage manager. Designers include Scenic Designer Brian Jones (chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, Indiana University of Pennsylvania), Lighting Designer James Langan of Scranton, Properties Mistress Liz Feller of Clarks Summit, Sound Designer Conor McGuigan of Scranton, and Costumer Rachael Miller of Carbondale.

Visit ETC’s all new website at www.electrictheatre.org for show times, to purchase tickets and PlayPasses, to shop Amazon.com, to sign up for the monthly e-Newsletter, and for information on all of the Theatre’s activities. Call 570-558-1515 to buy tickets or PlayPasses, or if you already have a PlayPass, to make reservations. The Electric Theatre is located at 326 Spruce Street, Second Floor in the Old Hotel Jermyn in Downtown Scranton.