Grapevine’s Runway Theatre announces 2008-2009 season

by Shawn Parikh

Runway Theatre in Grapevine is about to close out their current season with Lonely Planet this weekend, but they are already gearing up for their next year. They have just released info on their 26th season of "Life, Love and Laughter." Season passes ($70-90) are already available online so check out their lineup of 7 shows:

• Out of Order by Ray Cooney. From September 19 - October 5, 2008. Parliamentary procedure takes on a whole new meaning when conservative Richard, a government junior minister, plans to spend the evening in a London hotel with Jane, one of the opposition's typists. A conniving waiter, suspicious hotel manager, alert private detective, angry wife, furious husband, bungling secretary, unconscious nurse and a dead body virtually ensure that Richard's political career and personal life will be destroyed. Things go disastrously wrong and hilarity ensues in this farcical British frenzy of fun!
• My Three Angels by Samuel and Bella Spewack. From December 5 - 21, 2008. Christmas Eve is upon us, and it’s only 105 degrees in the shade. Travel back in time to turn-of-the-20th-century French Guiana where paroled convicts from the local penal colony move about with relative freedom. What we soon learn is that on the outside it is often very hard to tell who the real criminals are. Sometimes the only difference between freemen and those from the Bastille is that the incarcerated have been caught and prosecuted for their crimes. My Three Angels takes a warm, witty and romantic look at our long-standing moral convictions of what is right and wrong.
• Crossing Delancey by Susan Sandler. From January 30 - February 15, 2009. This sentimental, character-driven romantic comedy is about a New York City woman who must choose between suitors and cultures. The uncomplicated script revolves around Isabelle, a thirtysomething Jewish woman trying to find love in modern times. She is hoodwinked by her well-meaning, sharp-witted "Bubbie" into utilizing a purveyor of the ancient rite of matchmaking. Izzy is torn between her longing for Tyler, a handsome, self-centered author, and the proffered Sam, a plain-spoken, traditional pickle shop owner that would draw her back to her family's faith.
• Night Watch by Lucille Fletcher. From March 20 - April 5, 2009. Unable to sleep, Elaine Wheeler paces the living room of her Manhattan townhouse, troubled by unsettling memories and vague fears. Her husband tries to comfort her, but when he steps away for a moment Elaine screams as she sees (or believes she sees) the body of a dead man in the window across the way. The police are called, but find nothing except an empty chair. As Elaine's terror escalates, her husband, claiming that Elaine may be on the verge of a breakdown, calls in a lady psychiatrist, who agrees with his suggestion that Elaine should commit herself to a sanitarium. Momentum builds as sinister characters and a suspenseful plot bring the play to a riveting and chilling climax.
• Under the Yum Yum Tree by Lawrence Roman. From May 22 - June 7, 2009. This lighthearted romantic romp set in the '60s centers around Robin, a newly graduated lab technician, and her fiance, Dave, a young San Francisco attorney. Robin is moving into her very first apartment, momentarily being vacated by her Aunt Irene. Hogan, who owns the building, lives across the hall. The lecherous landlord has a history of wooing his tenants, including Irene, and would like to add Robin to his list of conquests. What follows is a test of Dave's resolve, Robin's sweet innocence and Hogan's omnipresence at every moment – day or night.
• Lucky Stiff by Stephen Flaherty. Book & Lyrics by Lynn Aherns. From July 10 - August 2, 2009. This murder mystery musical farce propels Harry Witherspoon, a mild-mannered English shoe clerk, into a lunatic mix of a murdered American uncle, his near-sighted, jilted mistress, her hen-pecked brother and several hundred dogs. Witherspoon will inherit six million dollars if he can successfully go on holiday with his dearly departed uncle in Monte Carlo for a week. If he doesn't pull it off, the money goes to the Universal Dogs' Home of Brooklyn – and if there is one thing in life that Harry hates, it's dogs! With a tuneful score and a well-oiled plot, Lucky Stiff guarantees hilarity for one and all.
• The Vertical Hour by David Hare. From August 14 - 23, 2009. A thought-provoking exploration of how the political can sometimes intersect, collide with and ultimately dismantle the personal. While the play is positively brimming with cogent and fascinating arguments involving the current political situation, the production only fitfully succeeds in bringing this story to life. Hare fills the show with several ethical and philosophical quandaries that serve not only as dramatic interplay between the three main characters, but, also metaphorically as the basis for several of the arguments politicians and intellectuals are having these days concerning the role that America and the West have taken in Iraq, the Middle East and beyond.

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