Photo by John Eaton
Larry
and Barbara Biddison play married couples in three different stories
for Hamilton-Gibson's third staged reading this weekend. It's free.
This
Saturday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m. and this Sunday, March 7 at 2:30
p.m., Hamilton-Gibson Productions is presenting a free staged reading of
three 10-minute comedies via Zoom. Each one tickles the funny bone as
it pokes fun at marriage and the never-ending “battle of the sexes."
Written by James Thurber (1894-1961) and
adapted for dramatic reading by HG's Larry Biddison, the three comedies
are: “A Couple of Hamburgers” (1935), “Mr. Monroe Outwits a Bat”
(1929), and “Mr. Preble Gets Rid of His Wife” (1933).
In
the first, Mr. and Mrs. Preble argue about where to stop to eat along
the road. In the second, Mr. and Mrs. Monroe reveal who wins the award
for bravery. And ,in the third, Mr. and Mrs. Preble demonstrate that “it
ain’t over till it’s over.”
Husband
and wife Larry and Barbara Biddison of Wellsboro are the featured
performers. “For our Zoomed half-hour staged reading, Barbara and I
chose these three not only because they are among our Thurber favorites
but also because they lend themselves to dramatic dialogue, allowing
listeners to imagine the pictures and actions suggested by the words,”
said Larry.
Celebrated
for his clever wit, Thurber wrote lots of short stories that were
published in The New Yorker magazine from the 1920s to the 1950s. Many
of them deal with human relationships.
"Thurber
felt that marriage was a mine field—and a field to be mined," Larry
said. "He saw that it was full of humorous possibilities with situations
deserving of satirical treatment. It’s common for couples to become
annoyed with the little idiosyncrasies of their mates, such as odd food
preferences or quirky personal habits.”
Among
domestic issues husbands and wives verbally spar over are these: “Why
did you mute the TV if you were leaving the room anyway?” “When will you
learn to put your dirty clothes in the hamper?” “Please don’t chew with
your mouth open.” “You know I don’t like catfish.”
Originally,
Larry had adapted these three Thurber short stories into staged
readings for Acting Up and Acting Out, Hamilton-Gibson's readers theatre
group, which he and Barbara co-lead.
“Since
2007 we’ve been sharing them in area churches, libraries, senior living
facilities and other venues. We have also used them during our
regular Acting Up sessions to give others in the group a chance to
create their own 'quarreling couples,'" Larry said.
"As
you watch these snarling and grumbling couples from your
pandemic-induced confinement, you can better appreciate the wit with
which Thurber portrays them," said Larry.
At
the end of the 30-minute performance, the audience will be invited to
stay on Zoom to talk about what they saw and heard with the Biddisons
and Director Thomas Putnam.
Audience members will find the Zoom information on the HG website at https://www.hamiltongibson.
Those familiar with Zoom can go to the Zoom website at https://zoom.us,
click on "joint meeting" and enter 839 2536 6867 - the access code for
the Saturday, March 6 performance and then enter the passcode 902173.
For the Sunday, March 7 performance, enter the access code 873 9936
8164 and the passcode 420146.
This
is the third in HG's free series of eight 30-minute staged readings of
short plays via Zoom. The series will continue with a different
30-minute short play or grouping of short plays each Saturday and Sunday
through April 10 & 11.
Donations are appreciated. To donate, go to the HG website at www.hamiltongibson.org or
send a contribution to Hamilton-Gibson, 29 Water Street, Wellsboro, PA
16901. Please include “Staged Readings” in the check memo line.
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