Tammy and I went to see a play Saturday night at the Stage Door Players in Dunwoody. The play is Blithe Spirit. Mary Sittler, who was in Beau Jest with me, and my friend Mark Grey were in this play. And by chance the director of Beau Jest, Lane Teilhaber also attended Saturday’s show.
As you may recall, Jest a Second is the sequel to Beau Jest. Lane was hoping to do Jest a Second at Kudzu Playhouse, with the same cast as Beau Jest, and at the same time next season. Well it turns out that Kudzu does not want to do Just a Second.
The story of Beau Jest was that SARAH created a fake boyfriend to please her parents because, they did not approve of her real boyfriend. So in Jest a Second, JOEL, divorced parent of two, is afraid to introduce his significant other, RANDY to his parents. The impression is that RANDY is female when actually RANDY is JOEL’s boyfriend.
What Kudzu has an issue with is not the potential controversy, the same controversy Stage Door experienced with a homosexual relationship in Deathtrap just recently, but that it would not draw the audience or even chase away the audience when they call to find out what the play is about.
Well keep that a secret. Say something like: “Jest a Second, a sequel to Beau Jest. In Beau Jest, SARAH has problems and hilarious consequences over the issue of presenting her boyfriend to her parents. A year later, JOEL is faced the very same issue.”
See. Let the audience assume whatever they want. Jest a Second, like Beau Jest is about family and family relationships and not about sexual preference. And after seeing the play, I would hope the audience would see it the same way. It is a very good play and I hope one day to be able to be in it.