A look at the five major offerings at the 2006 Humana Festival of New American Plays in Louisville, Ky.:
Six Years
By Sharr White
After six silent years, Phil Granger returns home to his wife, Meredith, shattered by all he witnessed in World War II. The play returns to the couple every six years through the quagmire of Vietnam. It’s a poignant examination of damaged souls in an era of unparalleled change.
Act a Lady
By Jordan Harrison
When the men of a small Prohibition-era town decide to put on a play in “fancy-type, women-type clothes,” the whole community is affected: Gender lines blur, eyebrows raise, and identities explode. A Midwestern fable about the woman in every man, and the man in every woman.
The Scene
By Theresa Rebeck
Three old friends hitting middle age have their worlds upended by the new hot, young thing. This biting black comedy takes on New York, the entertainment industry, marriage and even Ohio.
Natural Selection
By Eric Coble
In this dark comedy set in the not-so-distant future, we visit something called the Culture Fiesta Theme Park, where the curator of its Native American pavilion has to head west and round up new natives to restock the exhibit.
Hotel Cassiopeia
By Charles L. Mee
American collage artist Joseph Cornell made wooden boxes filled with pocket watches, coiled springs, maps of the stars, a forest of thimbles, parrots, seashells, children’s alphabet blocks and more. What if those boxes could speak?
Low
By Rha Goddess
The artist, activist and playwright poses the question, “What is Insanity?” in a one-woman, multidisciplinary piece exploring the mythology, stigma, fear and confusion surrounding mental illness.
