With its 2023 Summer New Play Festival, Tesseract Theatre has returned to its long-time mission of promoting new works. The first offering is Amy Lytle’s Red Curtain Rivalry, a delightful comedy that ought to tempt community theaters like the ones depicted in the play.

The show’s premise is that two community theaters located across the street from each other are doing the same musical at the same time.

The source of the mix-up is a mistake by Red Curtain Publishing and Licensing. It received applications from the two companies at the same time and assumed that the difference in the addresses was due to a typo. Permission to present A Doll’s House: The Musical! was sent both companies and cannot be revoked.

An amicable solution is impossible because the two theaters are fierce rivals. Their directors have diametrically opposed philosophies. Gareth, the head of The W Theatre is a martinet who demands unwavering attention and obedience at rehearsals. Yolanda, head of The Essence Theatre, uses rehearsal time to do the inner work of theatre, which focuses on the vessels rather than the characters. “Feel the energy in your body,” Yolanda tells her actors, “share your vibrations and accept others.”

The directors extend their feud to include the current productions. Gareth proposes a competition for a prize from Red Curtain to make up for the revenue lost because of the licensing error. Whichever company produces the better show will win the prize. Yolanda ups the ante by suggesting that winning theater should absorb the loser. The directors formally ask Red Curtain to send representatives to judge the productions and award a prize to the winner. Gareth and Yolanda are off to the races when the Red Curtain representative says, “I’ll see what I can do.”

The casting renews another rivalry. Penelope and Clarissa were friends a decade earlier but fell out over a part in a high school musical. Clarissa wanted the part; Penelope got it. They will be competing again in A Doll’s House: The Musical! Penelope is W’s Nora; Clarissa is Essence’s.

Their classmate, Ronnie, auditions for both companies and is cast as Torvald in both shows. To the surprise of his close friend, Penelope, Ronnie accepts both parts. He thinks he can pull off doing two shows at once because the theaters are close together and the starting times are a half hour apart.

The Tesseract production has an excellent cast. Chrissie Watkins as Penelope and Beth Knocke as Clarissa bring genuine emotions to their characters’ complicated relationship. Luis Aguilar finds the humor in the ego that impels Ronnie to appear in both shows.

Dorothy LaBounty as Yolanda and Kurt Knoedelseder as Gareth throw themselves into their characters’ contentiousness and eccentricities. Will Shaw brings geniality to the mistakes in hearing by Herbert, Clarissa’s father, who is Essence’s Dr. Rank. Gerry Love has a mischievous charm as Arthur, an incorrigible practical joker who plays Dr. Rank for W.

The children are portrayed in nicely contrasting performances. Alora Marguerite is Missy, a brat who craves the spotlight. Chloe Kurzym is the bookish Willow, who prefers to avoid the spotlight but accedes to the wishes of her mother, Clarissa. Nic Tayborn is earnest and sympathetic as Missy’s father, Chester, who tries his hardest to be a good influence on his headstrong daughter. Tammy O’Donnell shines in the brief role of Judy, the Red Curtain representative.

The action gets complicated in the second act, when both companies’ productions are onstage at the same time. Tesseract achieves clarity through the collective efforts of director Chris Kernan, scenic designers Brittanie Gunn and Taylor Gruenloh, and lighting designer Erin Riley.

Red Curtain Rivalry finishes it run on July 15 at 8 p.m. and July 16 at 2 p.m. Tesseract’s second new play, In Bloom by Gwyneth Strope, opens on July 14 at 8 p.m. and continues on July 16 at 6 p.m., July 21 and 22 at 8 p.m, and July 23 at 4 p.m. All performances are in the Marcelle Theatre, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive.

—Gerry Kowarsky

Photo by Taylor Gruenloh
Luis Aguilar as Ronnie and Dorothy LaBounty as Yolanda in Red Curtain Rivalry.