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At a time when the language of diplomacy has been reduced to a 140-character tweet transmitted at 3 am, it’s good to be reminded of the men and women for whom the quest for peace demanded actual thought and personal interaction.

J. T. Rogers’ Oslo, now running in its West Coast premiere at the Marin Theatre Company through October 28, is a look at the circumstances and personalities responsible for the Oslo Accords. The 1993 Accords, considered to be a breakthrough in the search for Middle Eastern peace, brought about Israeli acceptance of the Palestinian Liberation Organization as official representatives of the Palestinian people and the PLO’s recognition of the state of Israel.

Norwegians Terje Rod-Larsen (Mark Anderson Phillips) and Mona Juul (Erica Sullivan) are a well-connected husband and wife. He runs a think tank in Oslo; she is an official in the Foreign Ministry. They are the unlikely leaders of a plan to try a “gradualist” approach in middle east diplomacy. Issues would be dealt with one at a time, from the smallest to the largest, and they would be resolved person-to-person, not nation-to-nation.

As it was the official stance of both parties to never deal directly with each other, this had to be accomplished through secret, back-channels. Those channels, though far from Washington, D.C., led to that moment on the White House South Lawn when Israeli Prime Minister Rabin shook the hand of PLO chairman Arafat.

Rogers’ play takes the same approach as the negotiations. We get to gradually know the individuals involved. As they become better acquainted, we become better acquainted. As the process evolves, the audience evolves with it to the point where you would swear you were in the room with them.

Director Jasson Minadakis has gathered a terrific ensemble to tell this riveting story. It’s an exceptional cast of fourteen players. Sullivan’s Juul acts as the narrator, providing context and humor and facilitating the initial connection between the audience and the play. Phillips is magnificent as the part strutting peacock, part heartfelt peacemaker Rod-Larsen. His alcohol-fueled takedown at one point in the negotiations by the participants was wrenching. J. Paul Nicholas and Ashkan Davaran as the PLO representatives and Brian Herndon and Ryan Tasker as the initial Israeli contacts are excellent as the across-the-table enemies who soon develop a friendship.

While a true peace remains elusive, and regardless of how much of this dramatization is actually factual, Oslo reminds us that when humanity is allowed to enter a political process, there’s still hope.

‘Oslo’ runs through October 28 at Marin Theatre Company in Mill Valley. Tuesday through Saturday evening performances are at 7:30pm. The Sunday matinee is at 2pm.

For more information, go to marintheatre.org.

The credits for the Spreckels Theater Company production of The Addams Family, running now through October 28, notes that the musical is “based on characters created by Charles Addams.” It is not a recreation of the beloved 1960’s sitcom. It is not an adaptation of the visually inventive films of the ‘90’s. At the insistence of the Charles Addams Foundation, who retain control of all things Addams, the source material for the musical had to be the cartoons Addams published for fifty years in the New Yorker. The 2010 Broadway musical by Marshall Brickman, Rick Elice and Andrew Lippa had a moderately successful run before becoming a theatrical Halloween season staple. It banks on the goodwill and fond memories of the generations raised with the reruns or the films and then goes in a very different direction. Uncle Fester (Erik Weiss) narrates the show and lets the audience know it’s gonna be a story about love. A teenage Wednesday Addams (Emma LaFever) is worried about bringing her “normal” boyfriend/fiancée Lucas (Cooper Bennett) and his straight-laced, midwestern parents (Larry Williams, Morgan Harrington) home to meet her unconventional family. Wednesday lets her father Gomez (Peter Downey) in on her marriage plans but gets him to agree to not reveal her intentions to her mother Morticia (Serena Elize Flores) till an announcement is made at dinner. Things don’t go as planned. It’s a stock plot dressed up with the Addams characters though the characters bear little resemblance to their previous incarnations. Downey comes closest with a very nice paternal take on Gomez while Flores’ voluptuous Morticia lacks the character’s dark, funereal tone. The score is bouncy yet unmemorable, but there are a lot of good voices delivering it. Prepare to be knocked out when Pugsley (Mario Herrera) sings about the potential loss of a playmate sister with “What If.” Ignore the trick the show’s creators play with The Addams Family characters and you’ll enjoy a family-friendly Halloween treat. ‘The Addams Family’ runs through Oct. 28 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Fri. & Sat @ 8 pm; Sun @ 2 pm, Thurs, Oct. 25 @ 7 pm. For more information, go to spreckelsonline.com. Now, in order for a show like Count Dracula - running now in Monte Rio through October 27 - to work, it has to be either played straight or as total camp. Playwright Ted Tiller’s 1971 version of the Bram Stoker novel under the direction of Nadja Masura tries to do both and the mix just doesn’t work. Tiller also seems to have worked under the assumption that no one had ever heard vampire lore before and inserted reams of lengthy, dull exposition that makes the show run an hour longer than it should. A good set, some nice effects, and a game cast can’t mask the un-dead weight of a leaden script. ‘Count Dracula’ runs through Oct. 27 at the Russian River Hall in Monte Rio. Fri. & Sat. @ 8pm; Sun @ 3pm. For more information, go to curtaincallrussianriver.com.

There’s an interesting style of theatre in which a piece of dramatic prose, usually a short story or selected chapters from a longer piece, is fully staged and performed. Usually referred to as a “word-for-word” or “page-to-stage” dramatization, it takes some getting used to as literally every word on the written page -every word- is spoken. It’s the approach director John Shillington and the SRJC Theatre Arts Department take to tell the story of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents. Two chapters are taken from the 1991 novel by Julia Alvarez and given the page-to-stage treatment. Alvarez’s novel is a collection of stories told from the perspectives of the four Garcia sisters about the challenges they faced as emigrants from the Dominican Republic. It covers thirty years in the family’s life, from their childhood on the Caribbean island to their adult lives as emigrants to the United States. Two of the chapters are performed. “Floor Show” tells the tale of the family’s big night out courtesy the largess of a well-to-do American friend. It’s told by Sandi (played by Jasmine Flores-Nunez), the youngest of the four sisters and features the Garcia parents. Papi (Khalid Shayota) is having difficulty getting his license to practice medicine approved while Mami (Jisaela Tenney) is trying to raise her four girls properly in a foreign land. They are preparing to go out for a fancy meal at the invitation of Dr. and Mrs. Fanning, a couple they met back in the Dominican Republic. Mami is very clear as to what she expects from her girls (she will order their modest meals, they will like everything they eat) and Papi is somewhat ashamed at what he sees as charity. Several things happen over the course of what should be a pleasant evening that reinforce the family’s feelings of displacement. “The Rudy Elmhurst Story” is told by Yolanda (played by Aaronne Louis-Charles, Annelise Hermsen, and Katerina Flores as the character at various ages), the third-oldest of the sisters. It’s the late 1960’s, the sexual revolution is well underway and she’s away at school. On her first day of English class, she draws the attention of one Rudy Brodermann Elmenhurst III (Riley Craig). They are soon an “item” but the conflict between Rudy’s liberal take on sex (“Can’t it just be fun”?) and the mix of Yolanda’s Old-World upbringing with the fragmentation of identity that comes with assimilation leads him to leave her and her to believe that she “would never find someone who would understand my particular mix of Catholicism and agnosticism, Hispanic and American styles." There’s a bittersweet, but empowering ending to the story. Shillington and his diverse cast are good storytellers. They’re housed in Newman Auditorium where the use of technical elements is limited, but designer Andrew Moore manages enough lighting to give the show a more theatrical feel to it than the lecture hall environment usually allows. The (mostly) young multi-cultural cast are the perfect vehicles to tell stories that must resonate with many of them. High school student Jasmine Flores-Nunez perfectly captures the petulant behavior of the even younger Sandi, and the actresses playing Yolanda give a real sense as to the character’s internal conflicts and maturation. There’s good work by the young ensemble throughout the piece. While the stories focus on the girls, the challenges faced by their parents are not ignored. The difficulties in having to start over after leaving a good life are well played by Shayota and Tenney. The combination of the unique presentational style of interesting stories with a diverse, vibrant cast makes the SRJC production of How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents well-worth checking out during its limited run. ‘How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents’ runs Wednesday through Sunday through October 14 in Santa Rosa Junior College’s Newman Auditorium. Wednesday–Saturday, 8pm; Saturday & Sunday, 2pm. There's more at theatrearts.santarosa.edu

If you’ve missed having Summer Repertory Theatre around this year, 6th Street Playhouse’s production of “Guys and Dolls” may hold you until SRT’s return in 2019.

SRT Artistic Director James Newman helms this production of the 1950 musical about colorful New York gamblers trying to avoid the police, a persistent fiancé, and the goodly influence of local missionaries.

Nathan Detroit (played by Ariel Zuckerman) runs the “oldest, established, permanent floating crap game in New York" but police pressure is making it difficult to find places to house it. The only willing host wants a thousand bucks, which Nathan ain’t got. When word gets out that big-time gambler Sky Masterson (played by Ezra Hernandez) is in town, Nathan figures he can finance his game by getting him to make a sucker-bet that Nathan can’t lose. Nathan bets Sky he’ll be unable to get Sarah Brown, the leader of the newly-opened Save-a-Soul Mission, to go away with him for an evening.

While Skye goes about winning the bet (and falling in love, of course), Nathan scurries about trying to get the game going while avoiding the matrimonial pressure of his fiancé of fourteen years Adelaide. Trouble comes to town in the forms of gun-toting Chicago gambler Big Jule (Carl Kraines), and General Cartwright (Laura Davies) who wants to close the mission. Things work out for everyone after about a dozen-or-so Frank Loesser tunes and dance numbers.

Perhaps the most SRT-like aspect of this production is its youthful cast. It’s chock-full of SRJC Theatre Arts and high school grads mixed in with some stage vets. The casting leads to some significant age issues with the characters as written. Apparently, Miss Adelaide has been engaged since age six and there’s something a little unsettling about a teenage Harry the Horse (Benjamin Donner) roughing up senior citizen Big Jule.

Thankfully, the talent onstage can get you past that issue. Zuckerman brings a legitimate New York vibe to his character and Hernandez has the cockiness requisite for Sky. The character arc for Sarah Brown isn’t particular believable, but Elenor Paul makes it work. Ella Park is an absolute delight as Adelaide and her rendition of “Adelaide’s Lament” is a show highlight.

The shows other highlights include Randy Nazarian’s terrific work as Nicely Nicely Johnson and the show-stopping “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” production number.

If you enjoy well-crafted productions of classic American musicals, it’s a good bet you’ll enjoy “Guys and Dolls”.

'Guys and Dolls' runs Thursday through Sunday through October 14 at the 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 7:30pm. There are Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2pm.

For more information, go to 6thstreetplayhouse.com

Last year, Healdsburg’s Raven Players surprised this critic with a very interesting production of Quiara Alegría Hudes “Water by the Spoonful”. The play, which tells parallel stories of the tribulations of a returning Iraq war vet trying to assimilate back into civilian life and a group of recovering drug addicts trying to stay clean, was not what I expected from this theatre group whose home is located one block from the quaint wine country destination’s town square. It was a fascinating variation in the norm of this venerable community theatre. This year, they’re opening their season with not one, but two very interesting shows running in repertory – a serious comedy called “Church & State” and the intense drama “Time Stands Still”. With just 72 hours before election day, North Carolina Senator Charles Whitmore (played by Matt Farrell) is having a crisis of faith. A recent school shooting in his hometown has led him to question his belief in God and in his usual staunch defense of the Second Amendment. What’s worse, he’s admitted as much to a reporter. His re-election campaign manager is apoplectic. His Bible-quoting, Glock-toting wife will have none of it. He’s about to make the biggest campaign speech of his life. Will he stick to the script or speak from the heart. Playwright Jason Odell Williams has written an interesting 80-minute polemic on the political paralysis that has gripped our nation on this subject. While there’s no doubt where Williams and director Steven David Martin stand on the issue of gun control, the play does not reduce those who take a different stand to cartoon figures. He’s does, however, wrap the debate in a sitcom-like script albeit one with a joltingly dramatic climax. Farrell does well as the conflicted Senator, though he lacks some of the gravitas and maturity one would expect from a southern politician. Priscilla Locke is terrific as the tough-as-nails wife, and Katie Watts-Whitaker holds her own in scenes between the two. Zack Acevedo plays multiple roles and provides some of the play’s lighter moments as a campaign gofer. For the second show. Caitlin Strom-Martin directs a very strong cast in the Donald Margulies-penned “Time Stands Still”. Maureen O’Neill plays Sarah Goodwin, a photojournalist returning home after being blown up by a roadside bomb in Iraq. She’s accompanied by her partner James (Rusty Thompson), a reporter who had returned stateside earlier after suffering a breakdown from his own war zone experiences. While Sarah’s are more visible, both individuals have scars that run deep. The scabs from those scars are ripped by off by the arrival of Sarah’s editor Richard (Pablo Romero) and his rather young (“There’s young, and there’s embryonic.”) and deceptively lightweight girlfriend Mandy (Emily Tugaw). Their relationship has James contemplating a less chaotic life while Sarah looks to return to her work. Time may stand still but relationships don’t. Margulies’ thought-provoking script about life’s dramas both big and small is well-served by the artists involved in this production. Kudos to the Raven Players for continuing on their occasionally-out-of-the-ordinary programming path. ‘Church & State’ and ‘Time Stands Still’ run in repertory through October 7 at the Raven Performing Arts Theater in Healdsburg. There are Thursday through Sunday performances but the specific show dates and times vary. For more information, go to raventheater.org

Spreckels Theatre Company opens their season with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Simon Stephens’ adaptation of Mark Haddon’s 2003 novel about a boy with ‘behavioral difficulties’ took England and Broadway by storm and earned multiple awards on both continents.

Christopher (Elijah Pinkham) is a 15-year-old boy with an unspecified cognitive condition (that some read as autism or Asperger’s) living with his father in Swindon, England. He discovers a neighbor’s dog has been killed and, to his father’s consternation, decides to undertake an investigation. That investigation leads to another mystery culminating in a journey of self-discovery and affirmation.

Director Elizabeth Craven gets outstanding performances from her cast. Pinkham completely inhabits the incredibly difficult lead role. David L. Yen as Chris’s father and Bronwen Shears as a woman in their lives are also superlative and there’s a “who’s who” of quality North Bay performers filling out the ensemble.

Excellent technical elements (set design, lighting design, sound, and projections) effectively transport you inside Christopher’s oft-confused mind but occasionally overwhelm the story.

Performance and presentation combine to make The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time unlike anything previously produced in this area.

’The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ runs through September 30 at Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Thursday performances are at 7pm; Friday and Saturday’s are at 8pm; and there’s a Sunday matinee at 2pm.

For more information, go to spreckelsonline.com

If you’re going to see only one ‘five British women of varying ages, socio-economic statuses and body types bonding over pole dancing’ play in your lifetime, might as well make it Dave Simpson’s The Naked Truth. A big hit in England, director Argo Thompson imports it to the North Bay for its U.S. premiere at Left Edge Theatre.

Its story of five disparate individuals brought together with the goal of putting on a charity show is hardly original and its characters are pretty stock (the shy one, the bawdy one, the snobby one, etc.), but its well-acted and the five performers (Angela Squire, Bonnie Jean Shelton, Katie Kelly, Annabel Pimentel, Serena Elize Flores) and their instructor (Heather Danielle) have definite chemistry.

After your ears adjust to the accents, there’ll be two hours of laughs and tears as the ladies deal with self-image and relationship issues, sex talk, ill health, and betrayal. Will all conflicts be resolved in time to put on the big charity pole dance?

How did you think the show would end?

‘The Naked Truth’ runs through September 30 at Left Edge Theatre in Santa Rosa. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8pm; the Sunday matinee is at 2pm.

For more information, go to leftedgetheatre.com

Like an Elizabethan game of whack-a-mole, as soon as North Bay theatre companies knock out one outdoor summer Shakespeare production, another one seems to pop up. Marin Shakespeare brought us Pericles at Dominican University’s Forest Meadows amphitheater, the Raven did A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Healdsburg’s Seghesio Winery, and Shakespeare in the Cannery did Shakespeare in Love in the, well, Cannery. A few more weeks of summer means a few more weeks of North Bay Shakespeare al fresco. The Petaluma Shakespeare Company is presenting their Shakespeare by the River Festival with two shows – the bard’s All’s Well That Ends Well and an original production by Jacinta Gorringe entitled Speechless Shakespeare – through September 2. Marin’s Curtain Theatre is presenting Henry IV, Part 1 at the Old Mill Park in Mill Valley through September 9, and Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse closes out their season with The Comedy of Errors, one of Shakespeare’s earliest and mercifully shortest plays (merciful as it gets might cold in the Cannery after the sun goes down.) It’s the tale of two sets of twins - masters and servants - separated by shipwreck who years later come together in the city of Ephesus, thoroughly confusing wives, mistresses, merchants, and each other. Yes, the basic plot isn’t very original (Shakespeare “borrowed” it from a couple of even earlier plays) but that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. Director Jared Sakren has gathered a group of quality actors who all seem to be having fun with their roles. William Brown and Ariel Zuckerman are the masters who share the moniker Antipholus while Jared Wright and Sam Coughlin each play a servant named Dromeo. They’ll find themselves dealing with a bewildered wife (Jessica Headington), her supportive sister (Isabella Sakren), a doctor (Eyan Dean) who diagnoses demonic possession and an Abbess (Jill Wagoner) who’s just this side of Misery’s Annie Wilkes before everything is sorted out in the end. Colorful Victorian-era costumes (that’s when it’s set) by Pamela Johnson add to the jovial tone of the show and there’s some excellent physical comedy by Wright and Coughlin as the put-upon servants. It’s a silly show done seriously (and occasionally a bit too intensely) but overall, it’s an amusing way to bring summer theatre to a close. The Shakespeare by the River Festival runs Thursday through Sunday through September 2 on the Foundry Wharf Green in Petaluma. Times & shows vary. Admission is free. For more information, go to petalumashakespeare.org ‘Henry IV, Part 1’ runs Saturdays and Sundays through September 9 at the Old Mill Amphitheatre in Mill Valley. All performances are at 2pm and admission is free. For more information, go to curtaintheatre.org 'The Comedy of Errors' runs Friday through Sunday through September 2 at the Cannery Ruins behind 6th Street Playhouse in Santa Rosa. Performances are at 7pm For ticketing information, go to 6thstreetplayhouse.com

With September come football games that actually matter, open season on California tree squirrels (daily limit of four) and the opening of the new artistic season for many North Bay theatre companies. Here’s some of what they have in store for local audiences: Petaluma’s Cinnabar Theater (cinnabartheater.org) transforms itself into Berlin’s Kit Kat Club and bids you willkommen, bienvenue, and welcome to the classic Kander and Ebb musical Cabaret. Broadway veteran Michael McGurk and Petaluma native Alia Beeton take on the roles that won Joel Grey and Liza Minnelli their Oscars. The Spreckels Theatre Company of Rohnert Park (spreckelsonline.com) opens its season with the multi-Tony-Award-winning The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Fans of the Mark Haddon novel about a young boy on the autism spectrum investigating the death of a neighborhood dog will find that it’s been somewhat reworked for the stage, but Tony voters liked it enough to name it 2015’s Best Play. Sebastopol’s Main Stage West (mainstagewest.com) opens its season with the world premiere of an original comedy by local playwright Bob Duxbury. Savage Wealth examines the impact of the sale of a Lake Tahoe home and the vacant lot next to it on a pair of brothers and their childhood friend. John Shillington directs a cast of three in a story that also manages to work new age philosophy, politics, and romantic betrayal into it. Dancing and singing New York “wiseguys” take over Santa Rosa’s 6th Street Playhouse (6thstreetplayhouse.com) as they present Guys and Dolls. Summer Repertory Theatre Artistic Director James Newman moves to Railroad Square to helm what has been called “the greatest of all American musicals”. Santa Rosa’s Left Edge Theatre (leftedgetheatre.com) continues to provide North Bay audiences with recently written plays never before seen in the area with the U.S. premiere of a hit British comedy. David Simpson’s The Naked Truth involves charity fundraising, female empowerment, and pole dancing. Argo Thompson directs and somehow has worked former Second Row Center host David Templeton into the mix. The Pegasus Theatre Company of Guerneville (pegasustheater.com) will present its 12th annual Tapas: New Short Play Festival. This year’s festival will include seven short plays by Northern California playwrights and will be the first production overseen by new Artistic Director Rich Rubin. Healdsburg’s Raven Players (raventheater.org) open with two contemporary dramas that deal with a host of complex issues including war, PTSD, gun violence, politics and religion. Time Stands Still and Church & State will run in “rep”. In Marin, the Novato Theater Company (novatotheatercompany.org) hopes to have one singular sensation with their production of A Chorus Line, while Mill Valley’s Marin Theatre Company (marintheatre.org) will present the West Coast premiere of the 2017 Best Play Tony-winning political thriller Oslo. Ross Valley Players buck the trend and bring Shakespeare indoors for a change with their production of Twelfth Night. Napa’s Lucky Penny Productions (luckypennynapa.com) invites you Into the Woods, where director James Sasser has apparently added another layer of “fun” to the musical fairy tale mash-up. Plenty of options for the avid theatregoer. Information on all these shows can be found in the “Calendar” section of the North Bay Stage and Screen web site at northbaystageandscreen.com

Theatregoers hankering for a classic or the desire to see something new have two productions running now that fit the bill.

Cinnabar Theater presents the 50-year-old classic Cabaret. The Kander and Ebb musical, which has gone through significant changes via numerous revivals since its 1966 debut, is the tale of two couples whose lives intersect via the Kit Kat Klub, a seedy pre-WWII Berlin cabaret.

Cliff Bradshaw (Lucas Brandt) is an American traveling through Europe as he attempts to write the great American novel. His train mate Ernst Ludwig (Mark Robinson) sets him up at the boarding house of Fräulein Schneider (Mary Gannon Graham) whose other boarders include members of the chorus of the Kit Kat Club. Cliff meets Sally Bowles (Alia Beeton), the “headliner” at the club with whom he’s soon sharing his room.

Fräulein Schneider, who’s becoming adept at looking the other way at certain situations, finds herself being courted by Herr Schultz (Michael Van Why), the local grocer. The future of these relationships grows gloomier as the cloud of National Socialism forms over Germany.

One of the darkest American musicals ever written with as depressing an ending ever staged, director Elly Lichenstein proves that Cabaret still has the ability to stun, evidenced by the opening night audience’s hesitation at applauding the end of Act One.

Michael McGurk makes the iconic role of the cabaret Emcee his own, but it’s the delicate and devastating performances of Gannon Graham and Van Why that will haunt you.

Mary Chun does her usual fine job of musical direction, though a balance between vocals and accompaniment was occasionally elusive.

‘Cabaret’ runs through September 23 at the Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma. Friday and Saturday performances are at 8 pm; There’s a Sunday matinee at 2 pm.

For more information, go to cinnabartheater.org

For audiences looking for something a lot lighter, there’s Main Stage West’s production of Savage Wealth. It’s a world premiere comedy by local playwright Bob Duxbury. John Shillington directs Peter Downey and Matt Cadigan as Todd and Gabe, two very different siblings dealing with the disposal of their late father’s Lake Tahoe home. Complications are provided by their new-age neighbor/friend/ex-lover Beenie, played by Ilana Niernberger.

It’s a very amusing script that only occasionally belies the pedigree of its retired English professor author. Timing is everything in comedy and the three performers have it down to a tee.

It’s well worth checking out, particularly for those who decry the cyclical and repetitive nature of local theatre.

‘Savage Wealth’ runs through September 16 at Main Stage West in Sebastopol. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 8 pm; their Sunday matinee is at 5 pm.

For more information, go to mainstagewest.com

So, what’s former Spreckels Performing Arts Center Manager Gene Abravaya been doing since his retirement to the Arizona desert?

“Well”, he told me in a recent interview, “I’ve been enjoying my retirement and developing style and techniques for the abstract sculptures I am interested in designing.” “Oh”, he added, “and I’ve been working on a new play.” That play, The Trial of John Brown, will have a one-time staged reading at the Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park this Saturday, August 25th.

In 1859, John Brown, an ardent abolitionist and a fanatically religious man, led his followers into Harpers Ferry, Virginia. His objective: confiscate weapons from a rifle factory and an Armory, then sweep across the Southern United States, setting free every black slave he encountered. He was met with heavy resistance. After a three-day battle, during which all but five of his men were killed, Brown was finally captured. The trial that followed brought the issue of slavery to the attention of the nation and the entire world.

What piqued Abravaya’s interest in this moment in American history?

Abravaya told me that he’s “always been fascinated with it ever since seeing Raymond Massey’s portrayal in a 1940 Errol Flynn film called Santa Fe Trail”. Although he felt that the character was somewhat distorted and superficial, there was much about John Brown's personality that rang true to him and he was captivated after reading more about the actual raid and the trial that followed.

Abravaya is bringing it to Spreckels from Arizona for practical reasons – his previous connection to the facility plus the quality of talent he knew he could find in the North Bay. Abravaya said that he “wanted actors who were talented enough to make the written words come to life”. He knew he would find the people he needed up here to give life to the play and to help him see what legitimately works in the play and what still needs work.

Spreckels Theatre Manager Sheri Lee Miller is excited for the opportunity to offer North Bay patrons the first look at Abravaya’s script and will be participating in the reading. “Since Gene had been so much a part of Spreckels for many years,” said Miller, “it was only natural he should give us the first shot at sharing the script publicly.” Miller said that when she read the script, she found herself in the very uncommon position of having no suggestions on how it might be improved. She thinks it's a tight script with a clear narrative. “I didn't know much at all about John Brown,” she said, “so it was great to learn something historic through a play.”

Cast members will include Heather Buck, ScharyPearl Fugitt, Chris Ginesi, Mary Gannon Graham, Nate Mercier, Sean O'Brien, Dixon Phillips, Michael Ross, Chris Schloemp, Tim Setzer, William Thompson, Zane Walters, and Sarah Wintermeyer.

The project, Abravaya says, is more than about just writing a play. “I want to illustrate that the injustices of the past, no matter how much we try to deny them, are still with us, influencing the course of our lives”, said Abravaya, “If I manage to agitate someone enough to become an agitator or an activist, I will have succeeded and maybe have contributed something of value to what might be the most important issue of our time.”

‘The Trial of John Brown’ will be performed at a staged reading on Saturday, August 25 at 7:30pm at Spreckels Performing Arts Center in Rohnert Park. Admission is free, but the seating is limited.