Colin Crowley

“Life of Mahler” is a full-length, one-act drama that follows a young journalist in 1912 (Franz Kurtzman) who has been invited to write an authorized biography of the great composer Gustav Mahler – courtesy of Mahler’s widow, the beautiful and captivating Alma. Franz leaps wholeheartedly into his assignment, combing through boxes of Mahler’s letters and growing closer to Alma in the process… until one day, Franz discovers a hidden box… or two… or three… with letters that portray a Gustav Mahler who is strikingly different from what Alma has described. As Franz wrestles with this deception and confronts Alma, he must ask the question – what does it really mean to write the life of Mahler – and which Mahler’s life is he really writing about? “Life of Mahler” is ultimately a story about the nature of deception and the sometimes hazy interplay between deception and truth, complemented with poetic dialogue, wry humor, rich characters, and a surprise ending.

“A Cricket on the Hearth” is a romantic comedy-drama adapted from a novella by Charles Dickens and set in New York’s Hudson Valley, 1840, concerning the unlikely couple of John and Dot Plekkenpoel – John well into his 40’s, huge and lumbering, and Dot in her early 20’s, petite and perky – and yet, both happily married. In comes Ernest Tackleton, the finicky, greedy owner of a toy company – well into middle age – who is aiming to sweep up a poor, orphaned 20-year-old as his wife and convince her the age distinction is no true barrier. Hoping John and Dot will set a good example, Tackleton invites them to a luncheon with his betrothed, alongside a strange, cloaked man, who the kind-hearted John Plekkenpoel rescued from a snowstorm – but when Dot shows this stranger an equally strange degree of attention, it soon appears that John and Dot’s marriage is not as sweet as one might think. “A Cricket On The Hearth” is a witty, tongue-in-cheek play – intermixed with poignant drama, colorful characters, charming repartee, and a glow of optimism – about the nature of true love and the sacrifices we are willing to make for that love.

“Respectfully, Yours, Julia Sand” is a brisk-paced, two-act drama about President Chester Alan Arthur and the most unlikeliest of penpals. Set in 1880’s America, the play centers on Chester Alan Arthur, who has just been elected Vice-President of the United States. A creature of the New York political machine and a participant in the rankest corruption – and a devotee of soirees above all – Arthur is content to remain in his new, largely ceremonial role – until, that is, the actual President is shot and killed. Propelled into history, Arthur must choose between feeding the corrupt impulses of his friends and doing what is right for the country. He waffles, he wavers – and then suddenly he receives an inspiring letter from a mysterious woman who gives him the courage to stand up for himself and for what he knows is right. “Respectfully Yours, Julia Sand” is an epic drama – funny in parts, heartfelt in others, and even tragic in some – about hope and redemption – and specifically, the hope and redemption of the unlikeliest people from the unlikeliest sources.

“The Last Flight of the Electra” is a full-length, one-act play set in December, 1968 about the self-contented, intensely private millionaire Aileen Craigmore, whose life is turned upside down when her obsessive secretary, Sandra Houser, accuses her of being Amelia Earhart, the famous aviatrix who disappeared over the Pacific Ocean in July, 1937. Obsessed by Earhart, Sandra has long been a fan of the aviatrix and, to Craigmore’s increasing horror, like a magician pulling rabbits out of a hat, produces more and more “evidence” that Craigmore is really the living, breathing Earhart, freed from Japanese captivity after World War II by the United States government. A tense, manic game of cat-and-mouse follows as the increasingly determined Sandra seeks to corner the increasingly desperate Craigmore into admitting her “real” identity… whatever that may be. “The Last Flight of the Electra” is an exciting, even haunting play about the nature of identity – who we truly are and who we choose to be – and, indeed, the extent to which there is any difference between the two.

“A Flower of the Field” is a drama set in 1349 Ireland when the Black Death is stalking the land and all signs of hope have been cruelly ripped from the world. In the city of Kilkenny, however, there shines a gleam of hope, courtesy of a gentle friar named John Clyn, who single-handedly takes care of the infected and the dying in his abbey. One night, however, a sinister woman and her traumatized maidservant come calling and violently turn John Clyn’s world upside down, threatening to destroy the hope and faith he has worked so very hard to build. Haunted by this sinister woman, as well as a mysterious mendicant and a vengeful bishop – and faced with what appears to be pure evil – how can Clyn possibly emerge triumphant… and who and where is the real John Clyn? “A Flower of the Field” is a fast-paced, thoughtful, yet ultimately inspiring story of redemption and hope amid the accusing finger of evil.

“The Burning of the White House” takes place in 1814 when the United States is at war with Great Britain and the American effort is looking evermore dismal. With the British fleet just off the coast of Virginia, led by the infamous, tyrannical Admiral Cockburn, it is left to President James Madison and his wife Dolley to deliver a victory, both on the battlefield and in the parlor room of popular opinion. Joining them diligently is their young slave, 15-year-old Paul, filled with the feckless energy of youth and brimming with cheeky self-confidence. When the British defeat the American army and burn Washington DC, however, Paul’s world – and the entire country – is turned upside down. With the Madisons dispersed, the British advancing, and the city in ashes – and his youth and innocence along with it – Paul confronts the injustices of life and of slavery. “The Burning of the White House” is ultimately a coming-of-age story about one brave young boy’s transition to manhood against the backdrop of tragedy.

“I and the Emperor” is a two-hour historical drama about the unlikely relationship between the 16-year-old Betsy Balcombe and the aging Napoleon Bonaparte during the latter’s exile on the island of St. Helena following his final defeat at Waterloo. The curious and headstrong Betsy makes it a point to meet the Emperor and know him personally – first as a harmless, petulant child and second as a misunderstood man of heart and soul. Then, one day, a stranger arrives on the island who makes Betsy wonder whether the Emperor really could be the monster everyone claims and whether truth is quite as simple as she imagined it. “I and the Emperor” is a dramatic, droll, but ultimately touching and thoughtful coming-of-age tale – and more specifically, the story of Betsy herself, who comes to understand life, with all its peaks and valleys, through understanding the complexity and tragedy of the exiled Emperor in her backyard.

“Margo Asher Died Here” is a two-hour drama about the controversy and chaos that ensues when two elderly residents of a nursing home engage in a sexual relationship. As the relationship deepens, it quickly impacts those around the couple, creating a civil war among the nursing home’s staff and tearing asunder the romantic relationship between the old man’s son and the old woman’s daughter. Over time, the controversy grows greater and greater, the battle lines grow deeper and deeper, and the questions become ever starker… Are the old man and the old woman using sex to express some great burst of freedom and life – or is this something darker? Could it be rape – and if so, what role does the head nurse really play in all of this and what might be her motivations? “Margo Asher” is a moving, sometimes droll, sometimes bitter, more often reflective look at how human beings grapple with powerlessness – those who are powerless themselves or who witness powerlessness in others.

“Dear Mr. Whitefield” is a two-act historical drama about the cantankerous, troubled preacher George Whitefield, who swept the Anglican establishment by storm in the 1740’s, preaching the dignity of man in a very status-conscious society, and his personal and professional resurrection at the hands of the patrician, determined Countess of Huntingdon. The play follows the Countess’s quest – sometimes touching, sometimes troubled, but always inspiring – to defy the prejudices of her day and lead a religious revival in 18th century England. First, however, she must stop Whitefield from running away from his past, from his demons, but most ultimately from himself. “Dear Mr. Whitefield” is a poetic drama about faith and courage – faith in God, but also faith in each other, no matter the price, and the courage of a man and a woman who, scarred as they might be, bravely and stoically confront the norms of their time.

“Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room” is a full-length, one-act drama detailing the events surrounding the presidential nomination of Warren G. Harding at the Republican National Convention of 1920. A simple, good man, Harding could care less about being president and longs for the day when he can return to life as a small-town newspaper editor – but that option appears increasingly remote when the Republican Party looks for a savior after reaching a convention deadlock. Hounded by an ambitious campaign manager, a paralyzingly superstitious wife, and a starstruck young mistress, Harding appears doomed to be president… or is he? “Fifteen Men In A Smoke-Filled Room” is a neo-classic Greek tragedy that explores the extent to which fate controls our lives and the self-defeating role we play in our own destinies.

“One Little Wish” is a musical based on a French fairytale (adapted in other quarters as a Cuban or Puerto Rican fairytale) – here set in 18th century Paraguay – concerning a miserly septuagenarian who is tormented by people who steal pears from his beloved pear tree. This situation changes when the old man is visited by St. Peter in disguise and given a chance to put a curse on the pear tree that traps all potential pear-grabbers in the tree’s branches. The crafty curse, however, ends up causing more trouble than it’s worth when Death visits the old man to take him into the afterlife and unwittingly becomes trapped in the tree himself. With Death now up a tree, no one on Earth can die, leaving the world to face devastation and catastrophe – but the day is saved when a mysterious widow with a long-hidden secret rescues Death from the tree and brings purpose to the old man’s life. “One Little Wish” is a charming and touching musical fable about the hidden gems that exist in our lives and the undying hope that allows us to live long enough to enjoy them.

“Hello World” is a musical re-telling of the Greek myth of Pandora, who (in)famously unleashed misery upon the world by opening a mysterious vase. Specifically, the musical follows Pandora’s hapless husband – the god Epimetheus, a well-meaning dunce of sorts – who is tricked into marrying her as part of a crafty plan by the chief god Zeus to keep human beings in their place. Back then, humans were little better than servant labor – completely mute and completely male – until Zeus creates the first woman (Pandora) with whom Epimetheus quickly falls in love. Perky, pleasant, and insatiably curious, Pandora is enchanted by the world around her and wants to know everything about it – such that, when Zeus gives her a mysterious wedding present (a vase that must never be opened), she can’t help but give into temptation. Before too long, Pandora opens the forbidden vase and discovers it is full of malicious spirits (the Furies) who spread misery on Earth and, through that misery, demonstrate to human beings the dangers of being curious and asking questions… or, at least, that is Zeus’s intent. “Hello World” is a play about the true meaning of humanity and the costs associated with human independence.

“Few Thy Voice” is a two-act Hitchcockian drama about a former movie actress of delicate mental state whose guilt at the abandonment of her now-deceased father leads her to take care of elderly, senile men abandoned by their families in rundown nursing homes. A guilt-ridden, well-meaning husband, coupled with a sleazy nursing home proprietor and a sharp-tongued social-climber, enable the actress’s caretaking needs to be met (or, perhaps, “enabled”). The story quickly turns more than eerie, however, when the newest fatherly focus of the actress’s affection, in random and rather odd moments of lucidity, begins to reveal a story of murder in the family – but is his ranting the liberating cry of a male Cassandra or an invention on the part of his mentally delicate caretaker? “Few Thy Voice” is a play about the past deeds that haunt us and how we try to liberate ourselves from them, embrace them, or else fall prey to them.

“Encore Encore” is a bittersweet comedy-drama about the turbulent relationship between the famed literary wit Dorothy Parker and her first husband, Eddie Parker, in 1920’s America, just as Parker was beginning to rise to fame in New York dramatic circles. Her husband Eddie, however, suffers just as Dorothy flourishes, psychologically scarred and suffering from an addiction to morphine and alcohol due to his service in the First World War. The play traces Dorothy’s tense relationship with her husband and how she sheltered herself from the pain inflicted by that relationship through the meteoric rise of her career as a drama critic. The shelter, however, is a costly one, positioning Dorothy to live in public denial of her painful personal life and stapling her inexorably to a witty, unabashed, unashamed public persona that is not allowed the luxury of emotion. “Encore, Encore” presents an abrasive mixture of wit and tragedy, contrasting scenes of high hilarity with those of dramatic intensity.

“Philosophus” is a screwball comedy set in 1753 about the wonderfully self-righteous philosopher Voltaire and the bizarre escapades surrounding his flight from the court of Frederick II, King of Prussia, from whom he stole a sensitive, personal manuscript of poems. Determined to embarrass the monarch in revenge for an unfortunate falling-out, Voltaire finds his journey to France rudely halted in the city of Frankfurt by the intriguingly Hitlerian Baron von Freytag, representative of the Prussian King. Before too long, the Baron’s over-eagerness to obey his master’s wishes and the enormity of Voltaire’s ego combine to create a purely comedic kind of chaos, which becomes all the more ludicrous by the addition of a money-hungry German shrew, two slightly dim-witted, look-a-like servants, and Voltaire’s buxom, sex-obsessed niece, who fancies herself an ingénue. “Philosophus” is mayhem from start to finish, with a little bit of Kaufman and Hart, Oscar Wilde, Benny Hill, and Monty Python all rolled into one.

“Shadows of Men” is a two-hour historical drama about the novelist John Dos Passos and his determined search for his friend José Robles, who mysteriously vanished one night while working for the Spanish Republican government during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). Dos Passos pledges to find out what happened to his dear friend and puts aside the political aspects of a high-profile sojourn in Spain to get to the bottom of his friend’s disappearance. This passionate dedication to humanity puts the novelist at odds with more ideologically inclined individuals around him – especially the great Ernest Hemingway – who finds Dos Passos’s focus on friendship rather pedestrian when democracy itself is at stake. Dos Passos, however, remains single-minded in pursuit of his friend, despite the all-encompassing, ever-maddening clarion call of ideology – but the end of his journey may take him to a destination he never wanted to visit. “Shadows of Men” is a story about the inherent dignity of the individual and the centrality of human beings in a world dominated by ideologies, abstractions, and political polarization.

“The Beggar of Bethesda” is a two-act Biblical drama (a retelling of John 5 in the Bible) about a lame, jaded, cynical beggar who, some two-thousand years ago, spends his days conning passersby out of money at the Pool of Bethesda in Jerusalem. This all changes when a mysterious man appears from out of nowhere and commands that the beggar rise and walk – and, lo, he is cured. This great miracle, however, is not as welcome as expected – not to the temple authorities, not even to the beggar himself – and so he is banished from the city and forced to wander aimlessly. Then, suddenly, a second chance at living comes the beggar’s way – perhaps the only chance he will ever have – but is he faithful enough to take it?”The Beggar of Bethesda” is a play about our relationship with God – the chances He gives us, the overtures we spurn, and the self-destructive role we play in our lives without the strength to believe in something greater than ourselves.

“Hail and Reign” is based on a true story from English history concerning a battle for the throne that took place between the well-meaning nobleman Stephen of Blois and the much-despised Empress Matilda. When King Henry I of England dies, he leaves the throne to his headstrong daughter, Matilda, who is married and living in France – but the noblemen of England are not thrilled by the idea of a woman as sovereign and choose one of their number, Stephen, to become king instead. Alas, Stephen is too gentle in nature to be an effective monarch and quickly finds the nation descend into vicious civil war, courtesy of his own weakness and Matilda’s determination to get her throne back at any cost. Enter Stephen’s wife – another, very different Matilda (“Matty”) – and the story takes an unexpected turn. “Hail and Reign” may look like a story of kings and queens, but it’s really about the trials and tribulations human beings are willing to endure for the people they love.

“Harriman-Baines” is a psychological tragedy about a painfully reclusive composer (Carter Harriman) who writes modern classical music to the lyrics of the mysterious poet Melody Baines. Alas, Melody is dead, leaving her caustic spirit to haunt the Harriman household – but for Harriman, Melody is still very much alive. That’s because Minnie Baines, the meek, psychic sister of the poet, can communicate with her dead sister and thereby allow the worshipful Harriman to speak to his collaborator from beyond the grave. Soon, this ménage a trois is complicated by a Pulitzer-hunting journalist, who, over the course of a single night, exposes the lies and truths surrounding Melody and Minnie Baines with brutal and unbearable honesty. “Harriman-Baines” is an eerie, sometimes comic, more often disturbing journey into the causes, consequences, and desperations of loneliness and the lengths to which human beings will go to protect themselves from isolation.

“Memory” is a one-act rock opera – a musical fantasy, you might say – about man and a woman who mysteriously meet in a blissful, serene dream under a majestic spruce tree. Soon after, this same man and woman meet face-to-face in real life in exactly the same circumstances. This one meeting eventually turns into several meetings at different intervals of time, as the man and the women come to know each other, guided by a mysterious cloaked figure who seems to keep watch under the tree. While the woman remembers the dream and the utopian peace it bestowed on her life, the man remembers nothing, eventually causing a rupture between the two – the healing of which ultimately leads the man to a relationship of greater peace with the world and with his own place in it. “Memory” is a thoughtful, touching, intimate tale – avant-garde in nature and tender in style – about the emotional and spiritual journey of two souls looking for peace in their respective lives.

“The Footsteps of God” is a historical drama concerning the Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and the precarious nature of their early existence, focusing especially on the close relationship between Governor William Bradford and the native Squanto. Having recently arrived in the New World, the Pilgrims are in a sorry state, until they find friends in the Pokanoket tribe, chief among them Squanto, who teaches the English how to navigate the local soil and wildlife. However, Squanto is just as much an emotional crutch for the lonely Governor of the colony, whose wife died during the voyage to the New World. Together, Bradford and Squanto form a strong bond, until accusations against Squanto turn the Pilgrims’ world upside down and potentially mean the demise of everything they have built. “The Footsteps of God” is a story about faith, broadly defined – faith in God, faith in man – and the strength of that faith in the face of adversity.

“Whit(e)man” is a satirical comedy about Wally Whitman, a good-looking, professional African-American male who, despite all appearances, insists that he is, and has always been, a white man. Born into the wrong race, Wally relates to us his prolonged journey of self-discovery, aided by a flashy, transgender girlfriend, a Delhi-based customer service representative from Time Warner Cable, a crass, ambulance-chasing trial attorney, a white hobo with blond dreadlocks and abstruse wisdom, and a kooky white psychiatrist, who, like Wally, was born into the wrong race (she is, in fact, Mongolian). A contemporary, quirky satire, “Whit(e)man” puts a whimsical, comedic spin on over-used stereotypes (especially of a racial nature) and pokes fun at various aspects of a politically correct society. More than that, it is a story about identity and about what makes us who we are – what we can change about it, what we can’t – and what we perhaps shouldn’t.

“Leave It to Ms. Minor” is a two-act drama about the odd relationship between an aging, has-been sitcom star, Radley Chappin, and his ambiguous, headstrong, extremely controversial companion, Caitlyn Minor. After a chance encounter, Minor quickly becomes a constant presence in Chappin’s life, taking over every aspect of his existence, to the chagrin, amazement, or downright befuddlement of passersby. A few of these observers serve as narrators of our story, recounting the tale of Minor’s reign, from its sudden beginning, to its golden climax, to its tragic end, and leaving us to arrange in our minds the pieces of life she leaves scattered in her shadow. Ultimately, we must ask – is Caitlyn Minor sinner or saint… mastermind or manipulator… advocate or abuser? “Leave It To Ms. Minor” is a story of how our perspectives determinate how we see the nuances of life and the difficulty of finding truth when human emotions are involved.