Review: ‘Relativity & Me’ by The Warner Stage Company

Torrington, CT – The Warner Theatre opened the next production in the tenth installation of the virtual 9th Annual International Playwrights Festival on Friday. The play RELATIVITY & ME was written by Canadian playwright Len Cuthbert and was recorded in the Warner’s Nancy Marine Studio Theatre.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire International Playwrights Festival will be a virtual event – each production will be recorded in the Warner’s studio theatre over a period of several weeks and then the pieces are streamed via YouTube and Facebook every other Friday until April.

As in the past years, the mission of the International Playwrights Festival is to recognize the work of emerging and established playwrights and to build a link between the playwrights, the theatre community and our audiences. The festival is a celebration of new works by playwrights from across the country and around the globe. For the ninth year, 150 plays were accepted for consideration from across the United States and as far away as China and New Zealand.

The playwright shares his inspiration for this play:

This script was instigated by three things: the 2014 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines 370 and my love of physics, space and flight. And, one day I was riding the Toronto subway and thought, that would make a great location. This script is one of a collection of 7 new short scripts (Faded Shorts) that was to be staged at the 2020 Fringe Festival but has been delayed due to you-know-what.

The action of this piece is summed up in this sentence: “In a subway station, a young mother meets her great grandmother for the first time.” That is not incorrect, but there is a whole Theory of Relativity/science fiction/23 & Me layer that makes the story very contemporary. To make sense of that sentence, you will simply have to watch the performance.

Perhaps an even better reason to watch is that you get to see two of my favorite community theatre actresses on the Nancy Marine stage; this play features the multi-talented Katie Brunetto and Emily Creighton. Ms. Creighton plays Katelin, the single mom, and Ms. Brunetto is Amy (with a “y,”) the great grandmother; clearly you must watch this production in order to understand the casting of the latter role. The two ladies are extremely believable in their respective roles and instantly make the virtual audience care about the trajectory of their characters.

The production of RELATIVITY & ME was wonderfully directed by Isabel Carrington, who recently appeared in a previous play in this series entitled FOLDED. And sincere congratulations to the Warner Theatre's Director of Education, Isabel Carrington (lovingly known as Miss Izzy to her students!), on the release of her children's book WHERE THE MOON MEETS THE SKY! The book was inspired by Isabel's wish to create a tribute to the incomparable and infinite bond that we share with our pets. Isabel teamed up with artist Barbara Sargent Valenti to create this magical storybook for all ages. Order your copy today, by clicking here!

As was the cast in all of the previous pieces, there is appropriate original music by James P. Luurtsema. This piece is Passage in Time. The videography by Jeffrey B. Schlichter was well-done and the lighting most effective.

In a subway station, a young mother meets her great grandmother for the first time.

Len Cuthbert, from Ontario, Canada, is the founding director of Fridge Door Live Theatre Company. His plays have been presented on stages in Canada, the US and Europe. Reunited Shorts, his collection of 6 short diverse plays about reunions received great reviews at the 2019 London Fringe Festival and was published by Dramatic Publishing in 2020.

The two remaining works in this series are MOTHERHOOD by Lawrence Aronovitch, Ontario, Canada (3/26-4/8) and SAUL by Colleen O'Doherty, NE (4/9-4/22)

Each production will be available to view online for a period of two weeks before being taken down. There is no fee to watch but donations are always accepted. Streaming for RELATIVITY & ME will begin Friday, March 12, 2021 at 7:00 pm and be available online until Thursday, March 25, 2021 at 11:59 pm.

This virtual festival is made possible with a generous donation from The Marine Family and Thomaston Savings Bank. Virtual programming at the Warner Theatre is made possible by The Marine Family, Thomaston Savings Bank and the CT Office of the Arts

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions in a normal year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theatre news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. Follow the reviewer on her Facebook pages Nancy Sasso Janis: Theatre Reviewer and on Twitter @nancysjanis417 Check out the CCC Facebook page.