Press Release

Benchwarmers
by Chris Sheppard – Comedy-Drama – World Premiere
Director: Jeff Grove
Dates: August 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 2007

Players by the Sea will host the world premiere of Chris Sheppard’s comedy – drama Benchwarmers, directed by Jeff Grove, and performances are scheduled for August 10-11-12 and 17-18.

SYNOPSIS: Set in the early 1990s, Benchwarmers depicts a year in the lives of four characters whose interaction ultimately changes all of them. Curt Austlander (Karl Rogers) is a burned-out former teacher who now works a dull office job. His partner, Mike (Juan Unzueta), was killed in a car accident fifteen years before. A hedonistic fling after Mike’s death left Curt HIV-positive, and now Curt spends most of his spare time sitting on a park bench near his home, watching life go by, and holding imaginary conversations with Mike, who appears as he did in life – robust, athletic, and young. One day, a stray football from a nearby school playground brings teenagers Jesse (Solomon Levine) and Scott (Zach Kanner) into Curt’s life. Jesse is sensitive and creative, a fan of old movies who is often teased by his classmates. Scott, by contrast, is a gifted athlete whose life is shadowed by the physical abuse that he and his mother suffer at the hands of his father. Curt, egged on by Mike, reaches out to both boys as a mentor and bonds are formed that lead all four men in directions they never would have thought possible. The play is dramatic and warm, and peppered with zippy one-liners. Chris Sheppard has previously co-authored five published one-acts which have been produced more than eighty times in five countries. Benchwarmers is his first solo effort and his first full-length play.

For reservations call 249 0289 or click here for online reservations.