Provincetown Plays — Summer of 1916 — Trifles & Bound East for Cardiff

In 1916, a small group of writers and artists escaped to the small sleepy fishing village of Provincetown, Massachusetts. They entertained themselves and friends by staging plays in a make-shift theatre on the wharf. This avant-garde band of bohemians called themselves the Provincetown Players and staged both Trifles by Susan Glaspell and Bound East for Cardiff by Eugene O’Neill.

The Provincetown Fringe Festival is staging these 2 plays in a double bill this summer of 2005. Trifles by Susan Glaspell directed by Julie Allen Hamilton is set in early 20th century America. A man is found in his bed, murdered. Suspicion centers on his wife. The play exposes the different perspectives of the men who are investigating the crime, and the women who attend the scene to select clothes and other necessaries for the accused wife held in jail. As the men belittle the women’s work, the women unravel the mystery of what happened. And then the women face an ethical dilemma, the heart of the story, and “judge” the accused, deciding whether to reveal to the men what they have found.

Bound East for Cardiff by Eugene O’Neill is directed by Karen Maloney. On a foggy night midway on the voyage between New York and Cardiff, Sailor Yank lies dying in his bunk while the others exchange yarns and reminiscences. Yank takes a turn for the worse and quietly rambles on, wishing he had never gone to sea. In Yank’s words, “This sailor life ain’t much to cry about leavin.” Yank then wonders if a life on “dry land” would have been more stable and fulfilling. However, one wonders if Yank had not lived his life out at sea, would he have questioned his life’s course then also? He may have then regretted not pursuing the possible adventure that the sea could have brought him.

Both plays will feature Ellen Mulroney, Marjorie Conn, Beau Babineau and John Chartier.

Additional Performances: Tuesday, June 14 at 7pm, Thursday, June 16 at 7pm.

No Performance: Wednesday, June 22.

There is Free Parking at the Provincetown Inn. The theater also offers Free Wine, Free Lollipops, Free Seltzer.

Box Office Hours: 20 minutes before showtime

Appropriate For Ages: 13 and above