Ray Bradbury’s Almost Midnight

America’s Storyteller has a new evening of theater, opening just before his favorite holiday, Halloween. Ray Bradbury, one of the U.S.A.’s most honored, prolific and beloved authors, presents Ray Bradbury’s Almost Midnight. The title is a bit of gallows humor at the 85-year-old writer’s own expense. The program consists of four short plays and features a cast of actors most of whom have appeared in Ray’s plays before:

“Downwind From Gettysburg.” At the opening of a historical exhibit in Gettysburg, a man named Booth (naturally) makes it a point to shoot at an audio-animatronic Abraham Lincoln figure. With Max Ciano, David Polcyn, Simon Russell and Philip Sokoloff.

“Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned.” Jay Gerber plays Father-confessor to a penitent seeking absolution on Christmas Eve for a truly appalling sin in this story with a clever twist.

“Gotcha!” A beautiful young woman initiates a terrifying psychosexual game with her lover. With Riegan Sage and Simon Russell.

The above three plays are world premiere stage adaptations based on Mr. Bradbury’s short stories.

“Ylla” is the story of a married Martian woman haunted by visions of a seductive
Earthling. Playing Ylla is Mageina Tovah, who became known to national audiences as a regular on the TV series Joan of Arcadia and as Peter Parker’s sexy adoring neighbor in Spiderman 2. Portraying Ylla’s husband is Ben Messmer. This story has previously appeared as a segment in “The Martian Chronicles.” “Ylla,” however, is a new stage adaptation of this material, one that hews more closely to the short story that is its source.