'Eat the Runt' audience gets in on the act

A quote from Ayn Rand's theory of natural selection in Avery Crozier's play "Eat the Runt" goes: "When my dog had puppies, she ate the runt; why can't we have that much sense?"

Referencing the quote is Karl Bunch, an actor in Crozier's comedy, opening Thursday as part of the LateNight at Footlight series at the Footlight Players.

"This is my 49th play, and by far the strangest I've ever acted in!" Bunch says with a chuckle.

The comedy is set in 2000 in a large art museum where someone named Merritt is being interviewed for a position. As he/she goes through the interview process, the situation becomes weirder and weirder.

"It is made clear that Merritt could be a man or a woman," explains Bunch. "This is the case with all the characters as none of the roles are gender, age or race specific."

A museum guide escorts Merritt to meet Chris, a grants writer; Jean, a human resources coordinator; Royce, director of development; Sydney, a member of the museum's board of trustees; Hollis, curator of modern art and Pinky, museum director.

But it's left up to eight audience members to select which of the actors will fill the eight roles, something that could change at every performance.

Bunch says that although the script calls for eight roles, two are double-cast, so that only seven actors appear.

"Memorizing the lines of eight characters has been a rare feat for my poor brain to wrap around," says Bunch. "However, it's been easier because (director) Don Brandenburg started the rehearsal process by not letting us know which role we would play that night until we arrived at the theater, thus forcing us to learn all eight parts."

In previous productions, one theater selected the audience members who would assign parts to the actors using a remote-control headset; another theater had eight ticket stubs drawn from a hat.

At press time, Brandenburg had not decided exactly how to handle the audience selection process, which Crozier has estimated could total 40,000 different casting possibilities.

"Although the play opened in 2000, it is extremely relevant to today's job market," observes Bunch, 62. "It is also amazing how very differently the same scenes can turn out, depending on the spin an actor brings to a part."

Those who see the play once but want to see it performed in a different way, may receive a second-ticket discount.

Joining Bunch are Laura Artesi, Lisa Cooper, Rives Corbin, Boogie Dabney, Nikki Pearcy and Scott Robinson.

"Eat the Runt," for those 18 and older, will be performed at 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, continuing April 15-17 at 20 Queen St. Tickets are $10 Thursdays and $15 Fridays and Saturdays. To order tickets, call 722-4487 or visit www.etix.com.

'An Ideal Husband'

High society can be vicious, as no one knew better than the acerbically insightful Oscar Wilde. One of the world's wittiest playwrights, he is best known for "Lady Windermere's Fan" and "The Importance of Being Earnest."

His comedy/farce "An Ideal Husband," written in 1895, centers upon Sir Robert Chiltern, undersecretary for British Foreign Affairs, who is threatened with blackmail for an unscrupulous act he committed nearly 20 years before, when he was only 22. Since then, however, he has been a model politician with no scandal in his life whatsoever.

The play, opening Friday at the Village Playhouse, stars veteran actor Josh Wilhoit as Sir Chiltern.

Wilhoit explains, "Robert has risen very rapidly to power and he is truly honest and well-respected. But then his world starts to shatter when a Mrs. Cheveley arrives in London armed with a letter" that verifies Robert made money investing in a scheme.

Wilhoit adds, "Robert is terrified because he knows that his purist wife, Lady Chiltern, who believes he can do no wrong, will leave him should she find out about this, and so Robert turns to his good friend, Lord Goring, for advice."

"It's amazing how timely this play is," says Wilhoit, who adds that he is enjoying rehearsing with his real-life wife as Lady Chiltern.

"This play has the intrigue of modern politics, but with laughs," says director Keely Enright.

Ryan Ahlert plays Lord Goring, with Rebecca Anderson portraying Mrs. Cheveley in the large cast.

"An Ideal Husband" will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, continuing four weekends through May 1 at the Village Playhouse, 730 Coleman Blvd., Mount Pleasant.

Tickets are $20-$25, with student rush tickets $12 at the door. To purchase, call 856-1579 or visit www.villageplayhouse.com.

Reach Dottie Ashley at dottieashley@gmail.com.