Well, with Valentine’s Day behind us, perhaps we’re ready to take a rather darker look at love and marriage… what do you say?
Ouray High School Drama Club will present two one-act plays this weekend, a melodramatic high-spirited comedy and a dramatic murder mystery, both of which look under the surface of romantic relationships.
Anton Chekhov, a Russian physician from the late 19th century, wrote the comedy, A Marriage Proposal. Chekhov trained his clinical eye on human behavior, and he is world-famous for such realistic plays as The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard. But in this early sitcom, he puts two people together who simply CANNOT get along, and lets us see just how their marriage will work out. A match made in heaven?
The murder mystery follows a sheriff and a prosecutor (and a neighboring farmer) as they investigate John Wright’s grisly killing. His wife is in jail, under suspicion for murder. While the men look for clues, their wives sit in the kitchen discussing - according to the men - Trifles. Susan Glaspell based the play on a trial she covered as a reporter years earlier. It’s generally recognized as one of the greatest works of American theater.
Performances in the Ouray School APAC Friday and Saturday, February 25 and 26, 7 pm. Suggested $5 donation at the door.