Trio of shows comes to Hatbox in Concord

Granite Playwrights returns to Hatbox Theatre with Three One-Act Plays.

Granite Playwrights opens its collection with a send-up of the famous film, “It Happened One Night.” Lindsay’s play, “It Happened One Afternoon,” is set in Chicago, 1938. Wendy Williams yearns to be free to make her own dumb choices. But her movie star brother, Gabe Clarkson, wants to save her, and Nick, her cop boyfriend, wants to control her. Meanwhile, two young ladies who work the nightshift at the Majestic Arms Hotel want to drive her out into the gangster-crowded streets so they can fawn over and have Gabe Clarkson all to themselves.

The second offering is a “must see,” for anyone who has tried to thread his or her way through the college application process. “The College Game,” by George Kelly, pits five top high school scholars against each other on a TV game show. Each contestant vies for a coveted acceptance to the Ivy League. As each of the contestants prepares to answer a series of questions and play The College Game, the pressure is palpable. The answers to the questions asked belie the true feelings of stress that permeate each of the applicants. What they reveal illustrates what college-bound students really feel about the entire process.

Rounding out the one act plays is a revival of “Soup’s On,” by Lindsay, an intriguing and amusing look at a family in crisis. Two brothers who work through a long-standing familial, national, international, and existential tension, as they prepare a dinner of soup, bread, wine, and a revelation.

Granite Playwrights’ presentation of The College Game Plus Two, will run for two consecutive weekends, June 23 through July 2 at the Hatbox. Performances are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Hatbox Theatre is located at the Steeplegate Mall, 270 Loudon Rd., Concord.

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