Throughline Theatre Company Launches World Premiere of Playfully Dark Comedy by Local Playwright, 7/18-26

Harlan Howe is a lifelong schlub, chronically unemployed, bullied by his overbearing mother, and completely lacking in confidence or fortitude. He is anything but fast-track material. What was one man's private struggle with ineptitude suddenly has ramifications beyond our mortal plane when Harlan is accidentally interviewed by a mysterious corporation, and then even more accidentally hired... as a literal messenger of Death. Even with the best and brightest Angels working to train him, can Harlan survive the usual adjustment period that comes with a new job when the stakes are so high? Will humanity survive? Or is this the Boss working in mysterious ways again?

A New Death is the result of years of painstaking research and even more years of obsession with vintage television. With careful attention to detail, C.S. Wyatt cleverly translates all the changes, reversals, promotions, demotions, and restructuring that exists in the Heavenly Hierarchy into the all-too-relatable office politics and bureaucracy of a modern corporation, while paying stylistic homage to Bob Newhart, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, and other classic sitcoms of the 60's and 70's. It is a unique answer to the religious and existential questions that scholars, ministers, and comedians have been asking for ages: "Why are we here? What is the point? And who the heck is in charge?"

A New Death is the second production in Throughline Theatre's fifth season, following an incredibly successful production of Angels in America that The Pittsburgh Look called "clever and awakening." A New Death is the winner of Throughline's First Annual New Play Competition last year and is the third World Premier the company has produced in their five year history. Throughline Theatre's fifth season examines the expectations we have of our Divinities and Deities, and what those expectations reveal about our own sense of Mortality.

Throughline Theatre Company's four-show season focuses on the relationship between past, present, and future by presenting plays from varied time periods and arranging them to highlight their thematic and stylistic similarities.

A New Death opens Friday, July 18, at 8pm and runs until Saturday, July 26. The opening night performance will be followed by a reception where food and drinks will be provided and audience members can meet the cast. Thursday and Friday performances start at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm. There will be a question-and-answer session with the playwright, C.S. Wyatt, immediately following the July 24th performance. Tickets are $15 or $12 for students and seniors. Tickets for the Opening Night Reception are an additional $10. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online at throughlinge.showclix.com.