CABIN FIVER: Five comedies to chase away the winter blues
April 9-25; Fri/Sat @ 7:30pm, Sun @ 2pm
Freeport Performing Arts Center
$10 in advance, $15 at the door
Part III: “Chocolate Cake”, by Mary Gallagher
“ANNOUNCER: …rich…creamy…goodness…the most delicious ice cream in the world…
“AnneMarie stares at the TV, besotted, for a moment…She goes to kitchen area, takes chair from table…places it under high cupboard, climbs on it, opens cupboard, takes down a white bakery box containing the chocolate cake. She turns forward, as if to jump down, hesitates, peeks into box, sniffs cake…then quickly she turns, puts box back in cupboard, slams cupboard door, jumps down, pulls chair away to table, sits. Now what?”
What happens next is the most tender of the five comedies that make up Cabin Fiver. “Chocolate Cake” stands out as being less hilarious but much more “real” than the other four. Have you ever found yourself staring into a cupboard considering whether Baker’s chocolate goes with canned tuna?
Have you ever paired a loaded pizza with a can of Tab? Women in the audience will certainly relate to either innocent country girl AnneMarie Fitzer or brash New Yorker Delia Baron as they discover how much they have in common…not the least of which is an abiding love/hate relationship with food.
“Chocolate Cake” stars Carmela Masterson as Delia and Madeleine Paine as AnneMarie. Carmela has appeared in FCP productions twice before: as Meg in Crimes Of The Heart and M’Lynn in Steel Magnolias. We are thrilled to have her back after her long hiatus. Madeleine is new to us, but not new to theater. She has been part of the ensemble cast of A Christmas Carol at Portland Stage Company (which is how we found out about her), and she is appearing in Yours, Anne, a musical based on Anne Frank’s diary, running at Old Port Playhouse until March 21. They are directed by Sara Stelk, who directed Side Man for the Players last fall, among others.
Note: Although this particular play does not, other plays in the showcase do contain adult language.