Portland's Mad Horse Theatre Presents Mamet's THE CRYPTOGRAM, 10/12

Mad Horse Theatre's popular Dark Night Series returns in October with a presentation of The Cryptogram by David Mamet. Performances will be on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights, starting October 12 for two weeks only. Admission is by donation, with a suggested donation of $10. Because this is a limited engagement, reservations are strongly recommended. Showtime is at 7:30pm and it runs for 90 minutes.

The time is 1959. 10-year-old John is having trouble sleeping. He is going camping with his Dad in the morning, and the excitement is too much for him. He talks about his trip with his Mom and a family friend as they await the return of his Dad.

Thus begins one of Mamet's most personal plays, a tense family tragedy, delivered with the playwright's masterful and menacing command of language. Mamet transports the viewer back to a time in childhood when the seemingly safe world is revealed as both puzzling and dangerous.

The Boston Herald has said: "Heart-stopping...Where other dramatists are writing melodrama about the dysfunctional family, Mamet has written high tragedy," while the New Yorker has called the play, "Daring, dark, complex, brilliant. I suspect that in time it will take its place among Mamet's major works."

The production will be directed by Chris Horton and features a cast including Peter Brown, Bess Welden and Dylan Chestnutt.  The production will take place at the Studio Theater at Portland Stage Company, 25A Forest Avenue in Portland, Maine. For more information call 730-2389 or visit www.madhorse.com.