A CLEAN HOUSE Opens Tonight at Pennsylvania Playhouse

Wanna hear a joke? The meaning of this common prompt gets a radical makeover in Sarah Ruhl's "The Clean House," opening June 7 and running through June 23 at Bethlehem's Pennsylvania Playhouse.

The piece tells the tale of Charles (a doctor), Lane (his wife), Virginia (her sister) and Ana (the woman he loves.) At the center of it all is Matilde, a Brazilian maid and aspiring comedian, who helps these characters navigate the waters of love, hope, loss, friendship and laughter. It is a celebration of both life and death. All with a Sarah Ruhl twist - a style director Tim Brown identifies as "magical realism."

In life, there is a very clear line between the real and surreal. On one side, the laws of space, time and physics weigh heavy upon us. On the other, those boundaries are lifted, giving way to a transcendent landscape where anything seems possible - a place where forever love is forged in a glance and you can, in fact, die laughing. This is where our story begins; a world the playwright has christened "metaphysical Connecticut."

It's that very whimsy that attracTEd Brown to the Pulitzer-nominated piece in the first place.

The play is the third installment of the theatre's "2013 Director's Cut Season," which features shows selected by the directors' themselves.

The story also unfolds with Ruhl's trademark razor sharp dialogue.

"Her writing is so efficient, so clear and so poetic," Brown said. "It is truly captivating."

"I am in love with Sarah Ruhl," said Brown, a professor of theatre and speech at Cedar Crest College. "Her use of 'magic realism' allows us to explore emotions and themes on a level that we may not get to do if we retain a wholly realistic view of the world. By doing so, she manages to create characters that are both completely relatable and inherently theatrical. This is the stuff that excites me!"

Now Brown just has one thing left to do.

To purchase tickets or to learn more about The Playhouse visit www.paplayhouse.org.