LI Rep and Theater 294 Take You Around The World In 7 Plays

Many Long Islanders love to travel, whether it's to a tropical island or Maine, local beaches, Paris or Rome. Now a new show will take you there without leaving Long Island.

Theater goers who like that type of voyage will get a chance to take a journey around the nation and the world in one show, as Theater 294 and the Long Island Repertory Co. present a program of one acts set in different parts of the nation and the globe.

Around the World in Seven Plays, programs of seven one acts for each show, will play March 9-18 at Theater 294, 294 Farmingdale Rd. (Route 109), in East Farmingdale. Tickets are $15 online including the online discount by clicking Tix. or $17 at the door.

The show includes works Craig Pospisil, whose one acts are often included in best one act anthologies Robert Previto, one of the region's best authors and directors, and Claude Solnik, in house playwright at Theater for the New City, in Manhattan.

Directors include Jeff Bennett, Jim Black, Rich Jimenez, Robert and Joanne Domingo, Evan Cannon and Joseph Massimillo working with a cast of more than 20 of the region's best performers.

Shows range from Pospisil's "There's No Here Here" set in Paris to Solnik's "Painting the Sistine Chapel" set in Rome and Previto's "The Weight of Time" that deals with travel, both geographical and via memory.

Stops in various shows range from New Orleans to Maine, Paris to Rome with a few also in Manhattan. Scenes also are set in Upstate New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and Aphrodite's Rock, Cyprus.

"When a lot of people look back on memories over the years, they think of trips they took to one place or another," Solnik, who is helping produce the event, said. "The idea behind this show is to let people travel via theater."

Even the rehearsal process has let actors travel, and not just rehearse, remembering moments from their own trips. Each one act tells a story, introduces us to characters and also helps paint a portrait of the place to create a fast paced, fun and entertaining event.

The idea is for the show to let people see various short stories, many comedies and some dramas, to enjoy the trip and to help ignite people's own memories,.

"On a cruise, people travel from place to place," Solnik said of the show with each evening presented as an itinerary with locations noted next to each one act. "We want this show to let people go from Paris to Rome, a tropical island to Maine."

There are 13 one acts in all with seven presented in each show in varying combinations with varying locations.

Stories include people at a hotel before a wedding, a man who finds a woman's diary in Central Park, a meeting at a Paris café, an encounter in the Sistine Chapel, a man proposing on the beach and two people at a bus stop.

"The show is about seeing a series of short, interesting stories and characters come to life with the help of good directors and actors," Solnik said. "You get to meet all sorts of people on a trip that has all sorts of stops."

The one-act has a lot to recommend itself as a brief scene that gets right to the point, using dialogue, character and setting to tell a story.

"A one act can be like a jewel, compact and memorable, or like a brief journey," Solnik said. "We've got a lot of really good actors who will take the audience on a voyage to interesting plays and places."

Shows are Fri. March 9 and Sat. March 10 at 7:30 p.m., Sun. March 11 at 3 p.m., Fri. March 16 at 7:30 p.m., Sat. and Sun. March 17-18-at 3 p.m. at Theater 294, 294 Farmingdale Road (Route 109), in East Farmingdale. Tickets are $15 online in advance including an online discount by clicking Tix. and $17 at the door at Theater 294. The ticketing website includes itineraries for each night. For more info., call 516-404-2960.

AROUND THE WORLD'S SHOWS, CASTS AND SETTINGS (7 PER NIGHT)

(Each date's itinerary available on ticketing site)

Angelo DiBiase, Dolores Del Poto Sarli and Rosemary Amato appear in "The Lizard's Lesson" set in Manhattan

Christine Copley, Stephen Zuccaro, Tom Rizzuto and Judy McCormick appear in "There's No Here Here" set in Paris

Ravi Tawney and Stephanie Sultana appear in "The Principle" set in Connecticut

Briana Sparacino and Joseph Massimillo are in "The Edge" set in Manhattan

Ron Friedmann and Elizabeth Rowe appear in "Painting the Sistine Chapel" set in Rome

Megan Guida, Mike Park, Dan Bubeo and Bobbie Ruth are in "Detour from Desire" set in New Orleans

Geoff Cohen and Donna Cohen appear in "The Weight of Time" set at a bus stop

Ashley Vrana and Ann Morelli DellaMonica appear in "Cloud Ten" set in Manhattan.

Jennifer Alexander and Mike Cesarano appear in "Aphrodite's Rock" set in Cyprus

Rich Jimenez, Lara Hunter and Vicki Rothman Milach appear in "The First Day of the Rest of Your Life" set in New Jersey

Rich Jimenez and Maria Pusateri appear in "For My Eyes Only" set in Manhattan

Christopher Smith, Kathleen Cassidy Brammer and Joseph Slater are in "Christmas at the Shipwrecked Café" set in Maine

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