Presenting the Stray Cat Theatre 2008-2009 Season

NOTE: All performances will be presented at the original Tempe Performing Arts Center at 132 E. 6th Street in Tempe's Mill Avenue District, near Arizona State University.

Curtain is 8PM Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays; 2PM Sundays.

Everything Will Be Different: A Brief History of Helen of Troy
by Mark Schultz
directed by Ron May

Performances:
September 26, 27, 28
October 2, 3, 4, 5
October 9, 10, 11

Girl, interrupted.

15-year-old Charlotte’s beautiful mother is dead.
She turns to the story of Helen of Troy for refuge, convinced that beauty, desire and fame can help her bring her mother back and destroy the world that took her away in the first place. Seeking highly questionable career advice from her guidance counselor, who may or may not be having an affair with her, and looking for love from the football jock who may barely know she even exists, Charlotte finds herself searching in fantasy for what she cannot find in reality. Stray Cat proudly blasts open their season with this poignant and unsettling kamikaze dive of a coming-of-age story.

A Very Merry Unauthorized Children’s Scientology Pageant
Book, music and lyrics by Kyle Jarrow
Based on a concept by Alex Timbers
Directed by Gary Minyard

Performances:
December 5, 6, 7
December 11, 12, 13, 14
December 18, 19, 20

Kid-tested, Xenu-approved.

This holiday season, join us as a jubilant cast of children celebrate the controversial Church of Scientology in uplifting pageantry and song. The actual teachings of Scientology are explained and dissected against the candy-colored backdrop of a traditional nativity play. An ensemble cast of grade school children (no, we’re not kidding) portraying Tom Cruise, Kirstie Alley, John Travolta, and other less starry Scientologists, tells the story of L. Ron Hubbard’s meteoric rise from struggling science fiction writer to supreme leader of a (highly-profitable) New Age religious empire. Avant-garde performance art and children's theatre meet in one of the funniest and most bewildering holiday shows – we guarantee – you will ever see.

"Scientology", "Church of Scientology", and "L. Ron Hubbard" are all trademarks owned by Religious Technology Center, Los Angeles, California, USA. Believe it!

An Impending Rupture of the Belly
By Matt Pelfrey
Directed by Ron May

Performances:
February 13, 14, 15
February 19, 20, 21, 22
February 26, 27, 28

Father knows best.

How far would YOU go to defend your family?
Haunting and gruesomely hilarious, An Impending Rupture of the Belly concerns Clay Stilts' desire to fortify his suburban home in preparation for both a new baby and the apocalypse he's convinced is just around the corner. His obsessive fear is augmented when a slowly escalating battle with a neighbor who refuses to keep his dog off of Clay’s lawn explodes in an impulsive act of violence. In one reckless moment, fear wins out, Clay's world spins ferociously out of control and all hell breaks loose. Stray Cat launches into 2009 with this gripping new black comedy that captures the crippling anxiety of these uncertain times.

columbinus
By The United States Theatre Project
Directed by Ron May

Performances:
April 3, 4, 5
April 9, 10, 11, 12
April 16, 17, 18, 19
April 23, 24, 25

It could happen anywhere.

NIU. Virginia Tech. It would be nice to say Columbine was just “something that happened 10 years ago.” Sparked by the April 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, columbinus is a Laramie Project-style meeting of fact and fiction that illuminates the realities and horrors of adolescent culture by exploring the events surrounding the shootings. The play weaves together excerpts from discussions with parents, survivors and community leaders in Littleton as well as police evidence to bring to light the darkest recesses of American adolescence. A searing and heartbreaking examination of human behavior, columbinus documents the tragedy by asking more than just ‘Why?’, but perhaps more frighteningly, ‘Just how much can a kid endure before he snaps?’