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Tucson's Invisible Theatre starts its season with laughs
- Tim Fuller
"Love and
Marriage Go Together Like" … unless you are romance author Frances
Kittridge (Susan Kovitz) and her husband comedy columnist Colin (David
Johnston) who are going through a trial separation and division of worldly
goods while living in the same NYC apartment!
So she has planned Invisible
Theatre’s season accordingly.
“The first couple of shows are
lighthearted in what appears to be a challenging fall for the world,” says
Claassen, the company’s managing artistic director.
Next week, IT opens its 2016-17
season with Fred Carmichael’s comedy, “Coming Apart.”
At its heart: “Coming Apart is “a romantic comedy of love
and marriage, but it also touches on what happens when pride enters a
relationship,” says Claassen, who is a member of the cast.
The couple coming apart are
both writers who have been married for 21 years. “How do they celebrate each
other’s success while still believing in their own,” she says.
About that couple: Colin writes a weekly humor column. Fran
writes romance novels, but is about to write one about how to survive a
marriage.
Troubled waters: Colin and Fran are competitive. And stubborn.
In the heat of a moment, they both demand a divorce.
Neither wants it, but neither
is willing to back down. Even their memories presents differences.
“They both remember things a
little differently, such as the day of the proposal,” says Claassen.
A little help from friends: Sylvia is Fran’s agent; Bert is Colin’s best
friend.
“Everyone tries to get them
back together,” says Claassen, who plays Sylvia. “But there some doubts along
the way.”
The takeaway: The play has some ideas the audience can chew
on.
“That sometimes, for all of us,
our pride gets in the way,” says Claassen. “And maybe listening is a lost art,
and maybe we should discuss things in a civil way.”
But most of all, she says, “In
the end, there are some good laughs.”
Contact
reporter Kathleen Allen at
kallen@tucson.com
or
573-4128. On Twitter: @kallenStar