Phantom Theater developed a reputation for being experimental in the 1980s, their shows incorporating improvisational techniques, music, movement, script adaptations from classic works and wild and wacky humor.
Their new main stage, Pure Gold: A Phantom Reunion, has reunited actors and directors who started their careers in Warren – writing, directing and performing in original plays and shows – and who this week have been sifting through old scripts and notes looking for gems to revive, while at the same time creating new material.
Most of the names of returning alumni are familiar to Valley theater-goers: Annie Elias and David Sinaiko, Car Carr, Pamela Ricard, Jeanne Darst and Ramsey Brown (whose solo show Stop, Drop and Roll sold out two nights this past weekend) flew in from California, Ben Schneider and Miranda Kahn arrived from New York, Jeff Carey came from Colorado, and Rob Donaldson makes the daily drive down from Burlington.
Though the notion of creating a show in a week's time is daunting, all have spent their careers in theater and are enjoying the challenge, which could be considered the mental equivalent of Discovery Channel's latest survival series, "Naked and Afraid," where participants have to survive in the wild without clothing.
"The alchemy of having all these talented artists together is sure to yield gold," said Phantom board chair Debbie New. "They are known, through their history with Phantom Theater as well as their professional work beyond The Valley, as highly inventive and outrageously funny but also as creative directors and consummate performers."
Pure Gold: A Phantom Reunion opens Wednesday, July 31, and runs through August 3. Show time is 8 p.m. Go to www.phantomtheater.info for information. Call 496-5997 for reservations.
