Bozeman Daily CHRONICLE

‘Middletown’ readings explore life in a small American town

January 15, 2016 

Following Fall 2015’s blazing revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” Bozeman Actors Theatre presents two staged readings of Will Eno’s award-winning comedy-drama “Middletown.” Performances will be Thursday, Jan. 21, at Verge Theatre in Bozeman, and Friday, Jan. 22, at the Shane Lalani Center for the Arts in Livingston. Both performances will be at 7:30 p.m. A $10 donation to offset costs is requested at the door. Audiences are invited to stay for a discussion of the play with the cast following each performance.

The critically acclaimed “Middletown” is a deeply moving and funny play exploring the universe of a small American town. The lives of the inhabitants of Middletown intersect in strange and poignant ways in a journey that takes them from the local library to outer space and all points between. Often described as a modern-day “Our Town,” Eno offers up an old-fashioned version of small-town life that is familiar but with a tilt to the surreal.

Eno’s spare, fragile dialogue finds humanity deep in subtext, creating plays at once realistic and highly poetical. Regarding Eno’s nuance and humor, The London Telegraph stated, “It’s hard to imagine more dazzling writing on any stage,” and critic Charles Isherwood likened Eno’s style to a “Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation.”

The cast of Middletown features Tonya Andrews, Claire Barley, Gordon Carpenter, Maya Dickerson, Kari Doll, Richard Dunbar, Ryan Lawrence Flynn, Emily Jones, Colter Langan, Mark Richard, Dee Dee Van Zyl, Steven Harris-Weiel and Cara Wilder.

No advanced reservations are required and both performances will have general admission seating. For more information, visit www.bozemanactorstheatre.org, find Bozeman Actors Theatre on Facebook or call 580-0374.