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Dessert theater serves up Pinter

The size of Selah Dessert Theater’s performance space above Selah Restaurant in Struthers limits the shows it is able to do.

It also gives founder Mary Ruth Lynn the freedom to do things other theaters can’t, such as Harold Pinter’s “The Dinner Party,” which starts a three-weekend run Nov. 7.

It’s described as a “comedy of menace,” but no one will mistake it for Neil Simon. It’s also a three-act play at a time when contemporary audiences are used to exiting the theater within two hours, including intermission.

“I try to do things that are not done as much, particularly locally, and so that enters into the decisions that I make in terms of what shows I’m going to do,” Lynn said. “I also like to challenge myself as well as present a challenge for the actors.

“Pinter is well known and was very influential, but his work is difficult to do, and larger venues won’t produce something like a Pinter play, because they can’t fill 200 or 300 seats. I am fortunate that I only have to sell 38 seats in my space, and so I can afford to take a risk with things that are not commercial.”

That doesn’t mean there isn’t an audience for it. While there are only 266 seats available for the entire seven-show run, only 17 remained Wednesday morning, more than a week before opening night.

Part of the reason is theater buffs seldom get to see Pinter (1930-2008) performed live, even though the British playwright is a Nobel Prize and Tony Award winner, and several of his plays have been adapted for the screen (including “The Birthday Party”).

Lynn described “The Birthday Party” as one of his more accessible works.

“It was one of his early works and kind of established him as a playwright of the absurdist vein,” Lynn said. “He’s very unique in his style with the pauses that are written into the script. And this particular piece has a lot of humor in it. My feeling was that if I am going to bring something like this to an audience, it needs to be something accessible. And there’s a tremendous amount of humor in the play as well as kind of a sinister undertone all the way through.”

The play is set in an English boarding house, run by a married couple. Their only border is Stanley, described as hiding from his life and his past. Two mysterious men arrive in search of Stanley, and their presence at a birthday party for Stanley descends into a night of heavy drinking, chaos and a psychotic break.

“It’s a play that never really answers questions,” Lynn said. “A lot of questions are posed in the piece, but the audience is never told specifically what the resolution is. The audience is left to come to their own conclusions about many of the characters and the situations that occur in the play. To me that’s a really interesting thing to give to the audience. Maybe Goldberg and McCann are mobsters or maybe they’re government people. We’re never told, so that’s an interesting aspect of this show that I think provides the audience with something to really think about.”

The cast features Terry Shears, Cheryl Lilko-Games, Michael Dempsey, Eric Kibler, Adam Dominick and Renee DiAlesandro and it is directed by Lynn with Tom O’Donnell as assistant director.

Initially, Lynn was afraid she wouldn’t be able to cast the show. She didn’t think some of the actors who turned out for auditions had the experience to play the characters or weren’t right for the roles, and she considered delaying the show until a later date

“I’ve got to have the right people to do this,” she said. “Then Eric Kibler, who plays Goldberg, said, ‘You know, Michael Dempsy is looking for a project. Get a hold of him.’ So I contacted Michael — I haven’t been in contact with him for a long time – and Michael said, ‘Ooh, Pinter, whoa. That’s a really good role.’ So he came on board.

“Then Eric said, ‘You know, Cheryl is in Cleveland. She might come down to do the show. Cheryl was in the area when I first came back. She was in ‘Blithe Spirit’ at the (Youngstown) Playhouse when I directed it. Then she moved out to California, then New York and now Cleveland. I thought she’s never going to come down here to do this show, but I’m not going to lose anything, so I messaged her. She said, ‘I’ve always wanted to do Pinter so, yes, I’m in.’ With those people, I knew I could put it together.”

Lynn, 78, said she is grateful for the freedom Selah Restaurant owners Brian Palumbo and Jeff Chann have given her with the theater.

“It’s wonderful to have the success that I’ve had here at this theater,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for a better situation at this stage of my life.”

If you go …

WHAT: Selah Dessert Theater — “The Birthday Party”

WHEN: 8 p.m. Nov. 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 22 and 23

WHERE: Selah Restaurant, 130 S. Bridge St., Struthers

HOW MUCH: Tickets are $19.50 and include dessert and coffee at intermission and are available online at selahdesserttheater.com

Starting at $2.99/week.

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