Rep to present reading of drama ‘Talk Radio’

Qarie Marshall stars as Barry Champlain in the Edgy Rep Reading of 'Talk Radio.'

It seems almost everyone in America wants to tell their story — to audiences of friends and acquaintances on Facebook and Twitter, to a faceless public on sites like YouTube, or on radio call-in shows with combative hosts like Rush Limbaugh or Michael Savage.

But callers eager to share their opinions and attitudes with the world would meet their match in Barry Champlain, the vitriolic, abusive late-night host in the play Talk Radio, this season’s Edgy Rep Reading, presented by the Toledo Repertoire Theatre Saturday at 8 p.m. on the 10th Street stage, 16 10th St.

The 1987 Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama by Eric Bogosian (he may look familiar to fans of TV’s Law & Order: Criminal Intent) centers on Champlain, a controversial Cleveland shock jock whose show is about to go nationwide, and his vulnerable callers, who he mocks and goads. Playwright Bogosian, who also is a novelist and actor, was a solo performer who did lots of character studies (Drinking In America, Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll), said Jennifer Rockwood, director of the Rep's show.

Talk Radio will be presented as a reading, a pared-down format with actors who have their scripts with them onstage. The audience gets to enjoy the play and hear it, and see the actors’ interpretation of it, Rockwood said. She has taught at the University of Toledo’s Department of Theatre and Film for more than 20 years, and has directed many plays on local stages, including at the university, the Rep, and the Village Players. “I do theater all over the place, wherever it takes me,” she said.

Qarie Marshall stars as Barry Champlain. The cast includes Matthew Culbreath, Kate Abu-Absi, Jeff Bell, Peter Morais, Tim Keogh, Jacob Wenman, Jennifer Nagy Lake, Jim Pinkelman, and Eric Hillenbrand. The performance is intended for mature audiences only.

Tickets, $10, can be purchased by calling the Toledo Repertoire Theatre at 419-243-9277 or at www.toledorep.org.

‘Deathtrap’

Deathtrap, Ira Levin’s 1978 comedy-thriller nominated for a Tony Award for best play, will be presented by the Lourdes University Drama Society this weekend in the Franciscan Center Theatre on the Lourdes campus.

The plot centers on Sidney Bruhl, a once-successful playwright who has suffered a few flops. But he receives a script from a student, Clifford — a thriller that Sidney thinks could be a Broadway smash.

The thrills and twists begin when Sidney plots a way to use the script to revive his career.

Keith Ramsdell, drama society advisor, is director of the Lourdes production.

Performances will be Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 8 p.m., and a matinee at 2 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for seniors; advance purchase is suggested as seating is limited. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Franciscan Center box office at 419-824-3999.

Satires at UT

Fox Hunt and Striptease, two rarely seen one-act political satires by Polish dissident playwright Slawomir Mrozek, who died Aug. 15 at his home in France, will be staged in back-to-back performances opening Friday at the University of Toledo Performing Arts Center Theatre.

Cornel Gabara, director of the UT shows, starred in a 2004 production of Striptease at the renowned La MaMa E.T.C. theater in New York City.

Performances are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

After Friday’s opening night performance there will be a free reception and Talkback discussion in which the audience can meet the director, designer, and cast and ask questions about the show.

Additional performances are Oct. 17, 18, and 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 20 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for the general public, $10 for faculty and staff, alumni, and seniors, and $5 for students, and can be purchased online at toledo.edu/​boxoffice; by calling 419-530-2375, or at the Center for Performing Arts box office at the corner of Towerview Boulevard and West Rocket Drive on UT’s main campus.

Send theater items two weeks in advance to Sue Brickey at: sbrickey@theblade.com.