The Clean House will open tonight, April 13, at the Clark State Community College Performing Arts Center. The Clark State Theatre Arts Program has been rehearsing since January for the spring production of the play by Sarah Ruhl.
“She sings to me as a playwright. I really like her writing style,” Director and Producer Theresa Lauricella told the Springfield News-Sun. Lauricella is also Clark State’s program coordinator for theater, music and dance and an associate professor. “It’s time we put a female playwright on our stage again.”
The Clean House centers around Matilde, an aspiring comedian, who has come to “metaphysical Connecticut” via Brazil to clean the home of Lane and Charles, but instead secretly works on developing the perfect joke. “This show is unique,” said Lauricella. “It takes place in ‘metaphysical Connecticut’ on an entirely white set. The action takes place in real time and within the characters' memories so it has a surreal or dreamlike quality throughout. The message of the piece is love and forgiveness through humor.”
The Clean House was nominated for a 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and Ruhl was recently named one of the 17 American female playwrights you should know in 2017.
The Clark State Theatre Arts Program’s presentation of The Clean House will begin at 8 p.m. in the Clark State Performing Arts Center’s Turner Studio Theatre, 300 South Fountain Avenue in Springfield, April 13-15 and April 20-22 with a matinee performance on April 23 at 2 p. m.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. Admission is free for Clark State students with a valid student ID.
This production is for mature audiences and contains adult language and situations.