PATRON MASKED PERFORMANCE: Sunday, March 16 at 2:00 pm

Synopsis

Daphne and Ralph are young classics professors who have just made a discovery that is sure to turn them into academic superstars. But something goes disastrously wrong, and Daphne cries out in a panic, "Save me, gods of ancient Greece!" And the gods actually appear!

The Ivy League will never be the same as a pair of screwball deities encounters the carnal complexity of college coeds, campus capers, and conspicuous consumption in Ken Ludwig’s The Gods of Comedy!

A special note from the Director:

“I’ll be fully embracing the template of Dumb Comedy done in a Smart Way.

This is a time in our world, and also in the flow of the Pear’s season, when we need some palate-cleansing and some silliness. I’m looking forward to freshening the ‘Dixieland’ suggestions within Ken Ludwig’s script (for a few reasons, ahem) with a new soundscape pulling largely from viral TikTok and IG videos, and I’m excited about making this show feel as fresh and current as possible.

I’ll be relying on the comedic instincts of our cast, and cultivating a show and an ensemble that radiates kooky joy. The world will be in a very tense place on opening night of this show, and I hope we’re able to coax some smiles and laughs out of people, and showing them just how essential it is to be smart and silly at the same time.” - John R. Lewis

Cast

Mai Abe.......................Daphne
Mary Hill.....................Dean Trickett
Jaime Melendez.........Thalia
Arturo Montes............Ralph
Matt Regan....……......Dionysus
Jamiel St. Rose...........Aristide, Aleksi & Ares
Krista Joy Serpa...…..Brooklyn

Production Team

Director: John R. Lewis
Stage & Production Manager: Kelly Weber Barraza
Sound & Lighting Designer: Brittany Mellerson
Costume Designer: Greet Jaspaert
Set Design: Louis Stone-Collonge
Intimacy Coordinator: Bessie Zolno

Runtime

Approx. 2 hours with a 15 minute intermission.

Reviews & Press

"…be ready for a laugh-a-minute two hours where puns, groaner jokes, slapstick stunts, and hilarious physical mishaps combine with mixed-up identities, juicy historical gossip, and ridiculously erotic sexual pursuits to leave your sides hurting from so much merriment… a fabulously directed, hysterically acted... absolutely delicious offering of comedy." - Eddie Reynolds, Theatre Eddys (SFBATCC). Read the full review!

“…a great deal of entertainment… All the actors brought their all throughout the entire performance.” - Brandon Roth, Los Altos Town Crier. Read the full review!

“I am recommending this show to friends… The cast was especially brilliant… Thanks to the Pear for continuing to provide great entertainment to the Bay Area audiences.” - Pear Patron

Immersive Options

Dionysus Flight
A selection of 3 Greek wines, served in mini gold-rimmed plastic goblets, with crackers, cheese, and grapes (of course)! Served on a gold tray.

Classic Greek Frappe
Iced coffee made the Greek way, with instant coffee shaken with water. Customize your sweetness and milk amounts.

Happy Ending Cocktail
A cherry and prosecco cocktail, based off of the popular visinada Greek beverage.

Greek Mountain Tea
Imported from Crete, this herbal tea is known for its soothing properties. Served hot, with optional sugar.

FreeStyle Snacks - Olives
Grown in Greece!

In Co-Production with BootStrap Theater Foundation

Penelope, a music-theater piece, begins with a woman’s husband appearing at her door after an absence of 20 years, suffering from brain damage. A veteran of a modern war, he doesn’t know who he is and she doesn’t know who he’s become. While they wait together for his return to himself, she reads him The Odyssey, and in the journey of that book, she finds a way into her former husband’s memory and the terror and trauma of war.

Written and performed by Ellen McLaughlin, the original Broadway Angel featured in Tony Kushner’s masterpiece Angels in America!

Directed by Lisa Rothe.