Starlite Players present murder, mayhem and mirth with “Skirting the Law”:
four comedies depict people playing the angles (badly) from June 16-19 in the Starlite Room
SARASOTA, FL: A contract killer on a blind date, a telephone scammer preying on naïve grandparents, a gun dealer held up at gunpoint, a Swiss banker facing demands by a foreign minister of corruption control…. These plots play out in “Skirting the Law,” a collection of four short comedies presented by Starlite Players that depict people playing the angles—but badly. The antagonists create murder, mayhem and mirth as they learn that crime doesn’t pay and justice isn’t always blind. “Skirting the Law” runs on Saturday, June 16-17-18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, June 19, at 6:30 p.m. in the casual, intimate theater upstairs at The Starlite Room, 1001 Cocoanut Avenue.
The four comedies are:
“‘Honest Abe’ Mazulu” by Stephen Cooper. Abraham Mazulu (Michael Kinsey), Minister of Corruption Control from Gabongo, visits a Swiss Bank to obtain the names of Gabongan citizens who have been illegally exporting money. The bank director (Joseph Giglio) refuses and the secretary David (Philip Troyer) is of no help, forcing Mazulu to take strong action. The play, directed by Ken Erickson, was inspired by the short story “Clean Sweep Ignatius” by Jeffrey Archer, a former member of Parliament, and published in “Best Ten-Minute Plays, 2011.”
“Killer Date” by David Abolafia. An off-kilter killer-for-hire on a blind date has a contract that needs to be . . . executed. Will it be a “meet cute” or deadly encounter for Pete (Joseph Rebella) and Gabriela (Grace Vitale)? That first step toward romance can be murder. The waitress (Lauren Ward) serves them conscientiously in the premiere production of this walk on the deadly side that Jamie Lee Butrum directs.
“Gram Scams” by Cary Pepper. Gram (Betty Robinson) answers the phone to hear, “This is Michael. Your grandson. In Canada. I was in an accident and I need $15,000.” What loving grandma could resist? Will Gram fall for the pitch from this scammer (Joseph Giglia)? Can her real grandson (Ren Pearson) rescue her? Daniel Greene directs this comedy, which won the audience award at the
Theatre Oxford 2015 National 10-Minute Play Contest and was also produced in 2015 Short + Sweet Sydney (Sydney, Australia).
“Gunplay” by Jack Gilhooley. He (Ren Pearson) may have picked the wrong establishment to rob when he targeted (pun intended) her gun store. She (Lauren Ward) may have read this doofus right from the start. Mark Woodland directs the premiere of this comedy that makes us wonder if a mutual attraction to guns can result in a mutual attraction to one another.
Starlite Players stages an evening of short comedies for one weekend each month and has produced 37 plays with 150 performances since its debut in July 2015. Its focus is on theater professionals from the Tampa Bay area. Tickets at $17.50 include the four plays and a 15% discount on an optional pre- or post-show dinner at The Starlite Room. For show tickets and information: www.starliteplayers.com, [email protected], and 941.587.8290 (1 p.m. to 5 p.m.) Also see the Starlite Players Facebook page. For dinner reservations: 941.702.5613. (Please note the spelling of “STARLITE.”)
Killer Date
“You in some kind of 12-step program?” Gabriela (Grace Vitale) asks her blind date, Pete (Joseph Rebella). “Oh, I do a lot more steps than that,” he says, displaying his toned body–to the dismay of Gabriela and their waitress (Lauren Ward). Jamie Lee Butrum directs the zany “Killer Date” by David Abolafia. It’s part of Starlite Players’ “Skirting the Law,” four short comedies about people playing the angles (badly), presented at Sarasota’s Starlite Room on June 16-19.
Gram Scams
“Grandma, did you just give your credit number to someone who called you?” Michael (Ren Pearson) tries to protect grandma (Betty Robinson) from an unseen telephone scammer (Joseph Giglia) who preys on unsuspecting grandparents in “Gram Scams.” Daniel Greene directs this comedy by Cary Pepper as part of “Skirting the Law,” four short comedies presented by Starlite Players from June 16-19 at the Starlite Room in Sarasota.
Honest Abe Mazulu:
“The information you request cannot be given out,” says M. Poulenc (Joseph Giglio, center). This greatly displeases Abraham Mazulu (Michael Kinsey, left), Minister of Corruption Control from Gabongo, who threatens drastic—and not necessarily legal—reprisals as Poulenc’s secretary (Philip Troyer) looks on. Ken Erickson directs Stephen Cooper’s “‘Honest Abe’ Mazulu” as part of “Skirting the Law,” four short comedies presented by Starlite Players from June 16-19 at the Starlite Room in Sarasota.
Gunplay
Never pull a gun on a gun dealer. Why didn’t He (Ren Pearson) figure this out for himself before She (Lauren Ward)—the gun dealer—had to go and spoil his stick-up? It’s not exactly a duel to the death in “Gunplay” by Jack Gilhooley. Mark Woodland directs the play as part of “Skirting the Law,” four short comedies presented by Starlite Players from June 16-19 at the Starlite Room in Sarasota.
