Beirut by Alan Bowne
A love story set in a dystopian future fueled by fear of a deadly disease. Torch passes the time alone, cut off from the outside world. His girlfriend, Blue, makes the dangerous journey across the quarantine line to convince him that living inside “Beirut” together is better than life on the outside without him.
Performances are April 19, 20, and 22* at 8pm (*Special April 22nd Monday Night Industry performance), April 21 at 3:00pm, in The Skinner Studio Theater at Plays & Players (1714 Delancey Street, 19103). April 26 and 27 at 8pm at The Mt. Airy Art Garage (7054 Germantown Ave, 19119) Tickets available at casabuenacp.com. Tickets $15-$25.
A young man named Torch has been quarantined to a dark, squalid room on the Lower East Side of New York City, after testing positive for a nameless, sexually transmitted disease. In his grimy cell which the locals refer to as “Beirut,” Torch passes the time, forbidden from contact with the moral population of the outside world. His uninfected girlfriend, Blue, makes the journey across the quarantine line to be with him. Torch tries to keep her at room’s length and for the next hour, they argue lovingly, jokingly, fearfully, bravely, and desperately about sex and death. All the while, Torch pleads with Blue to leave before his resistance fails and he infects her. Will he let her choose the possibility of infection or scare her away? She must decide if she wants to live without sex and feel dead or risk death and feel alive with him in Beirut.
