Have you ever thought that an argument over religion could result in side-splitting comedy?

Written by Savannah native Evan Smith, the comedy “The Savannah Disputation,” now now open for a three-week run at South Carolina Repertory Company’s theatre on Hilton Head Island, involves the good-natured and sometimes susceptible Margaret (Pat Haskell) and the no-nonsense and always spirited Mary (Barbara Farrar), two Catholics who receive an unexpected visitor (Jan Haskell-Mohr) who causes Margaret’s faith to waver.

'The Savannah Disputation'

When: 8 p.m. March 27, 31, April 1-3, 6-10 and 2 p.m. March 28, April 4 and April 11

Where: South Carolina Repertory Company, 136 Beach City Rd., Hilton Head Island

Tickets: $15-$28

Much of “The Savannah Disputation,” set in 1920s Savannah, consists of “comparative-religion-class debates over the word of the Bible and the tenets of the Catholic faith, set to the rat-a-tat rhythm of a sitcom laugh track,” according to the New York Times.

"Religion is always tricky subject matter, but the thing that makes this play so appealing is that it carries zero judgment," said director Blake White. "It’s more a conversation starter."

The South Carolina Repertory Company has made a deal with the devil.

On Thursday, the troupe will debut its production of “The Seafarer,” a dark comedy about a poker game thrown into chaos by the presence of Lucifer himself. The play, written by Conor McPherson and set in a suburban basement near Dublin, concerns a group of old drinking buddies who find the stakes of their game raised when one of them looks like he might be playing for his soul.

“What could be more fun than a bunch of Irish drunks playing cards on Christmas Eve? Throw in the devil, and you’ve got quite a mix,” said director Tom Evans, who first saw the play in New York a few years ago and bought a copy as soon as it was published. “There’s something innately interesting about the way the Irish live their lives. ... My goal is for this to not even look like it’s been directed.”

'The Seafarer'

When: Feb. 11-14, 16-21 and 23-28. All Tuesday through Saturday performances are at 8 p.m. Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m. There will be talkbacks after the Feb. 17 and Feb. 24 performances.

Where: South Carolina Repertory Company, 136 Beach City Road, Hilton Head Island

Tickets: Weeknight and matinee tickets cost $24 for seniors and $26 for adults; Friday and Saturday nights cost $26 for seniors and $28 for adults.

Information: 843-342-2057, http://www.hiltonheadtheatre.com

The five actors in the cast have only had about 70 hours to prepare, but said that the material has been a welcome challenge to work on.

“(The script) is layered like and onion and also just hilarious,” said Blake White, who plays Mr. Lockhart. “To get that combination from a contemporary playwright is golden.”

As the play is said to be inspired by an Old English poem about an aging seafarer evaluating the life he has lived, Evans said the production has “theatrical effectiveness and literary value.”

“This is a haha-smart play,” he said.

Indeed, to encourage discussion about the work, the theater has scheduled talkbacks following the Feb. 17 and Feb. 24 performances. “A few seasons ago we had a production of ‘Doubt’ and held talkbacks after each performance. They proved so popular that we have continued the process,” White said. “Basically, actors get out of costume and come back on stage and anyone who wants to stay and chat about the play can.”

COMING SOON
Next month, the company will explore the ever-entertaining intersect of faith and folly with “The Savannah Disputation,” a play about an over-the-top evangelical’s attempt to save the souls of two Catholic sisters. A New York Times review described it as a “very special theological episode of ‘The Golden Girls.’ ”

Maureen Simpson, Special to the Guide

With its premiere in 2001, the show “Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks” preceded wildly popular TV dance contests like “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” by a number of years. But the South Carolina Repertory Company is hoping audiences will shimmy and glide their way into their take, drawn by the renewed popularity of dance and the always-fashionable love-story-with-a-twist.

According to the theater’s managing director, Blake White, “Six Dance Lessons” seemed like a perfect fit for a company known for its choices of plays with small casts and intimate spaces. “First and foremost, this play is very funny,” White said. “It really examines one’s idea of tolerance and how that can evolve no matter what one’s age or history happens to be.

Michael, a gay, middle-aged dance instructor, gives Lily, the strait-laced widow of a Southern Baptist minister, a dance lesson every week at her Florida condo. Both are sharp-tongued and needy and their personalities are as different as can be, but they develop a unique relationship and end up learning from each other as Lily also masters the tango, waltz and cha-cha.

‘Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks’
When: 8 p.m. Thursday-Dec. 5, 9-12, 15-19 and 2 p.m. Dec. 6, 13
Where: South Carolina Repertory Company, 136 Beach City Road, Hilton Head Island.
Tickets: $26 for adults and $24 for seniors and students on weeknights and matinees; $28 for adults and $26 for seniors and students on weekends. $15 for students.
Information: 843-342-2057, www.hiltonheadtheatre.com
 

Repertory Company veteran Barbara Farrar, who recently turned 77, will put on her dancing shoes to play Lily in what is her 12th production for the company. Greenville actor Brock Koonce has appeared in several productions at two upstate professional theaters, The Warehouse and Centre Stage.

White said “the dances are probably the most challenging (and fun) aspects of the show.” And director Peggy Trecker White also is the show’s choreographer and both actors took dance lessons in a variety of steps and styles before rehearsals started. 

By TERESA FITZGIBBONS
Special to the Guide

Not too many musicals are deserving of two exclamation points in their titles, but “Gutenberg! The Musical!” has proved that even a musical about the life of the inventor of the printing press can be hilarious.

“The writers of this show are spoofing the big spectacle musicals and the long process involved in getting one produced,” said director Peggy Trecker.

Indeed, this parody of Broadway musicals is a play-within-a-play under the guise of a production backers’ audition. Bud and Doug, two wannabe writers with an innocent belief in the power of Broadway dreams, act out their over-the-top show about Johann Gutenberg, the inventor of the printing press. The scant historical data on his life allows the two to fill in the gaps with familiar spectacle musical ingredients with riotous results.

“Anyone who loves musicals gets kind of a backstage pass to see how they’re created,” said Matt Mundy, who plays Doug in the SCRC production. “The show references Broadway clichés old and new. You don’t need to know anything about theater to enjoy the show, but Broadway fans may get an extra snicker or two. The humor is intergenerational with jokes designed to appeal to different demographics.”

Bud and Doug play all 30 roles by donning dozens of identical hats with the characters’ names written on them.
While the hats are a funny bit, the actors each must undergo transformations as they move from role to role. As such, the show offers theatergoers a chance to see a character break up a fight he’s in and portray an 11-member chorus line in four-part harmony with only one voice and two legs.

“Gutenberg! The Musical!” premiered off-Broadway in 2006. The two writers, Scott Brown and Andrew King, first workshopped the show at the Upright Citizens’ Brigade, a breeding ground for Saturday Night Live cast members and other sketch comics.

It ran for six months at the Actors’ Playhouse and has been produced both nationally and overseas for the last two years. The show earned several award nominations in 2007, including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical from the Outer Critics’ Circle and the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical. The writers were honored with a Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical.

“It’s a new show that is just starting to hit the regional circuit,” said producer Blake White. “We pride ourselves on finding material that no one else in a 200-mile radius is going to do.”