The Guest at Central Park West

By: 

Levy Lee Simon

Directed By: 

Thomas Coté

A Main Stage Production
In The Main Stage Theater

Closed: 

March 15, 2008
Winner of three 2007 AUDELCO Awards:
Best Playwright (Levy Lee Simon), Best Lead Actor (John Marshall Jones) and Dramatic Production of the Year (The H.A.D.L.E.Y. Players)

African-American Professor Charles Watts is no longer safe in his own home. Every phone call is a potential death threat. Every stranger, a potential enemy. Still, tonight he is celebrating. After receiving the Nobel Prize for his pacifist book, The Eyes of Peace, Charles and his wife, Nina, are going forward with a dinner party in honor of Charles' achievement. The guests are white professors, Eric Engles and his wife Jennifer, whose marital tensions often eclipse the political tensions that mount during the evening. That is until an unexpected guest arrives at this Central Park West address - Terrence Barlow. Terrence is a homeless drifter with a scintillating mind and a violent disposition. Still, Charles welcomes him with open arms to the dismay of his already fearful wife and friends. When Nina's bi-racial daughter Lisa and her boyfriend the white dreadlocked thug rapper Seth arrive, the rage in Terrence leads to life or death proportions. Terrence exposes a different side of the peace loving Charles, and the future of all the guests will be forever altered by the man who was left behind.

Reviews & Press: 

The Guest at Central Park West

A well-constructed drama...Simon's play, directed by Thomas Coté, hits all the right notes...a scrumptious set designed by Craig Napoliello...startling conflicts and frightening revelations...John Marshall Jones is sensational...Jed Dickson is spot-on...with her poignantly comic portrayal of the drunken Jennifer, it's Tracy Newirth who steals our hearts.

Lisa Jo Sagolla

About Show: 

Cast: 

Harvy Blanks*
Curt Bouril
Jed Dickson*
Erinn Holmes*
John Marshall Jones*
Trish McCall*
Tracy Newirth*

Lighting Designer: Evan Purcell
Scenic Designer: Craig Napoliello
Costume Designer: Joanie Schumacher
Stage Manager: Michael Palmer*
Assistant Stage Manager: Malachy Orozco

*Member, AEA - an Equity Approved Showcase

Production Photos: