“Write what you know,” says the old adage. First-time playwright Jay Serafin has really taken that advice to heart. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say he’s taken it to mouth. Glass? Bottle? At any rate, Serafin has turned his passion for wine and annual trips to Napa Valley into a full-length comedy, “The Grapes of Bath,” making its debut this weekend and next at The Factory in Nuremberg.
Produced by the Nuremberg Community Players, “The Grapes of Bath” tells the story of Michael Bath (Jim Clyde), a man with a dream of making the best wine in California. In pursuit of this dream, Bath longs to purchase the vineyard next door, which is owned by the infamously nefarious gangster Ironhead Popodopolous (Ed Samler). Complicating matters are Ironhead’s entourage — his dame, Roxy (Becky Nenstiel), slick lawyer, Rosini (Don Murray), and his muscle, Guido (George Denke). Toss in Bath’s bear-hugging aunt (Squeen Denke), a crazy mother (Angela Kaja), a few wild teenagers (Tori Tone and Kylie Smith) and one capable caterer (Marla Parker), and problems, not to mention laughs, are sure to flow.
The idea for the comedy first started fermenting about 10 years ago following a trip to Napa.
“It’s just an area of interest for me that I thought would make a funny story,” says Serafin.
The play didn’t come together right away, so the playwright let it age, pulling it out again just recently. Though Serafin, who’s also serving as the director, has been savoring “The Grapes of Bath” for quite some time, the script has taken on a whole new flavor now that it’s on the stage.
“I’m getting surprised every night. I’m rolling laughing every night.”
Serafin credits his cast of 13, including those previously mentioned as well as supporting cast members Becky Shuman, Emerson Lindenmuth and Colleen Bognet, with the continued development of the comedy.
“The cast has been great. They’re doing a wonderful job,” he says. “Seeing how the actors take the words and run with them, they’ve added a lot of depth and dimension. I trust the actors. I know they’re going to be there. They’re going to make a good show of it. It’s been building and building and building, and I love where it’s going.”
(November 20, 21, 27 & 28 at 7:30 pm and November 22 & 29 at 4 p.m. at The Factory, School and Apple streets, Nuremberg. Dinner available prior to each show by reservation only. Dinner and show tickets: $24. Show only tickets: $10. 570.788.4411.)
The Smell of Success
Lackawanna County playwright K.K. Gordon has also been writing what he knows recently, culling laughs from real-life experiences. Gordon is following his recently wrapped drama “Miss Woman” with a night of short comedies called “Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Much,” a self-depreciating nod to the fact that four out of the five shorts are award-winning pieces.
First on the bill is “Flesh Eaters of Hyde Park.” Though the title evokes thoughts of a British zombie comedy, the play tells the tale of best friends on a two week trip to England.
“Maybe the first two days were nice, but the rest of it was a nightmare of nearly Biblical proportions,” the playwright says with a laugh.
At various points in the so-called vacation, the duo dealt with food poisoning, being hit by a car, a deluge of phone sex ads and more than one brush with the law. Characters include Gordon himself, as well as Julia Child, Sigmund Freud and the Queen of England.
“We’ve been telling this story for years,” says Gordon. “I’m really proud of this play because I didn’t hold back.”
Next up is “Real Friends Help You Move,” thankfully the only one that isn’t based on actual events. This short comedy involves a domestic diva type a la Martha Stewart who kills her date because of a perceived off-color suggestion. Desperate to clean up the mess, she calls her headbanger sister to help hide the body. Another celebrity-inspired piece, “Finding Your Inner Chuck Norris,” focuses on a character who feels that there’s a little movie-star tough guy in all of us. Gordon gives us a peek at the creative process with “Atonement,” a “completely insane” comedy about what goes on in a writer’s mind as he’s creating a play. And last but not least, the night wraps with “Killing Naked Roses,” the playwright’s response to Yasmina Reza’s critically acclaimed drama “Art.”
“It’s really the same kind of subject matter I look at on any given day, I just look at it a lot lighter,” says the typically dramatic Gordon.
“Success Hasn’t Spoiled Me Much” stars a posse of the playwright’s favorite actors including Regina Yeager Todd, Kerry Kearns, Jarid Jopling, E.J. Leeson, Joe Meyers and Sid Michaels, as well as newcomers Kat Moran and T.J. Major. Kearns and Mike Lally are making their directorial debuts, with additional direction by Lou Bisignani and Art Walsh.
(November 20, 21, 22, 27, 28 & 29 at 8 p.m. at The 411 Studio, 411 Lackawanna Ave., Olyphant. Tickets: $10. 489.7700.)
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