Rehearsals have started for the newest theatre production, Jack Goes Boating. The director, Chuck Erven said, “the play is really a story of misfit love, two sort of social misfits connect and find each other against the odds.”
It’s a four-character play, starring Magnus Chhan as Jack, Danielle Cash as Lucy, Nick Haas as Clyde, and Sydney Mason as Connie. Clyde and Lucy, the married couple of the play, try to hook up social misfits, Jack and Connie.
It is a romantic comedy that about finding a positive vibe, and Jack tries to do that by getting into Reggae music. He is a character that Erven says, ” perseveres,” jumping into the dating world and learns how to swim for his love interest, cook for her, and acquires new life skills as the play goes on.
But the play also has some content that might not be appropriate for children.
“It’s rated, if there is a rating for plays, the movie equivalent of “R” because there’s some language in it and they do drugs, they smoke pot a lot, so it’s a play with adult content, no nudity,” said Erven. “But you don’t want to bring your 14-year-old with you.” The characters are friends and they get stoned often, “They do a variety of drugs and it’s not about the drugs, not to a point where you feel bad for them, like the drug use is a sort of problem for the character, it’s just the way they deal with life,” Erven said.
Lead Actor, Nick Haas said that “Jack Goes Boating” is an endearing story about the average person. Haas plays the part of Clyde, who is Jack’s good friend and one of the masterminds behind his connection with Connie. Haas wasn’t bothered by the mature content of the play. “You shouldn’t be turned off by certain elements of the play. There is so much more than what they do in terms of the drug use and language,” he said.
Erven said that this play is very contemporary and really for a college age audience.
“If you like movies like Knocked up, Pineapple Express, and Little Miss Sunshine those are very much like this. The play has the same kind of tone to it.” Erven continued and said that the play has the same sort of rhythm as Seinfeld.
Bob Glaudini (who also wrote the plays Dutch Heart Of Man and A View from 151st Street) penned the play in 2006. Erven said he chose this play because it’s funny, light and also very real.
Erven added, “What sort of drew me to the play was the fact that there are four very flawed people, and yet we have such sympathy for them and we connect to them completely. For the actors, a lot of these plays are kinda inarticulate and so the actors find out what’s going on in the text, it is great fun, funny for an audience, and it’s a challenge for the actor.”
The play is still in the rehearsal stage; Opening night is Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. and runs through Dec. 13.
