SSCC Theatre proudly presents, for ONE NIGHT ONLY, a series of short plays by Christopher Durang in An Evening with Durang at 7:30 p.m. this evening. Admission is FREE!

The night begins with “Medea,” in which Medea (played by Veronica Carpenter) and her chorus of three men (Benjamin Gullett, Jeff Horick, Bryan Kessinger) try to figure out if it’s appropriate to kill your children to punish your husband. Jason (Deven Rine) shows up; so does a messenger (Cody Pollard) with news of Lady Teazle; and a deus ex machina (B.G. Prater) comes down from the sky to cheer everybody up.

Then, in “Canker Sores and Other Distractions,” a man (Mark Holmes) and a woman (Leslie Holmes), previously married, try to reconcile over dinner, but a canker sore and a talkative waitress (Shelby Pittl) ruin everything.

“Women in a Playground” showcases two women watching their children play; one of them (Tina Kessinger) is pretty normal, the other (Alicia Jones) has a very pessimistic outlook.

Gretchen (Megan Marvin), nagged by her mother about her empty love life, calls a romance talk line, “1-900-Desperate,” and finds only other women (Kelly Devine, Jenna Milstead) and one man named Scuzzy (Horick). When a five-year-old child (Corey Cloud) dials by mistake, Gretchen finds his innocent babbling preferable to all the adults.

In “DMV Tyrant,” a man (B. Kessinger) goes to a clerk (Kat Castle) at the Division of Motor Vehicles and tries to get his license renewed with infuriating results.

During “The Doctor Will See You Now,” a raucous singer (L. Homles), dressed in sequins and boa, keeps bursting into noisy song in a doctor’s office. Mr. Wilson (M. Holmes) is there to see the doctor (Rine) about an allergy, but the doctor and his nurse (Hannah Hengler) insist he has a venereal disease and call up everyone he knows, as a public service.

“John and Mary Doe” introduces us to the idealized family: John (Gullett), his wife, Mary (Carpenter), and their three perfect children, John Jr. (Cloud), John the Second (Milstead) and their daughter, Johnna (Jones). But things aren’t as they initially seem.

Two strange sisters (Marvin and Castle) bicker about who did or didn’t kill their mother, and who does or doesn’t like pudding, in “Phyllis and Xenobia.”

At a “Funeral Parlor,” a widow (T. Kessinger), is accosted at her husband’s funeral by a very inappropriate guest (Pollard).

And the night closes out as Frank and Joe Hardy (Horick and Gullett) change sweaters a lot and look cute. The word “sleuthing” excites them and they’re off to investigate what it means that Nancy Drew has “a bun in the oven” via their school nurse, Nurse Ratched (L. Homes) and their dad, Mr. Hardy (M. Holmes) in “The Hardy Boys and The Mystery of Where Babies Come From.”

An Evening with Durang is directed by Rainee Angles and stage managed by Micaela Countryman, with production design by Rainee Angles and Abraham Martin and costume design by Laura Martin. Fulfilling other crew positions are: Drake Cadwallader, Matt Cowdrey, Marcy Grooms, Roger Johnson, Seth Potts, and Heather Washburn.

Due to content, An Evening with Durang is not appropriate for children.

For more information about An Evening with Durang, the 2011 – 2012 season, and other SSCC Theatre productions, please visit www.sscctheatre.com.