THE CAPTAIN RUH CLUB
by Russ Barnes
For performance and licensing rights, contact Russ Barnes at email links.
a Dramatic Production of:
The Great Sassafras Tea Party Group
Captain Ruh Synopsis
THE CAPTAIN RUH CLUB ("Ruh" rhymes with "the") is a two-act dramatic memoir about a group of boys in Uniontown, Pennsylvania during the early 1950's. The play has been performed in Washington DC 12 times and in Uniontown, PA twice.
As children, we arrive on this earth perfect. We come fresh out of the egg with all our genuine passions intact. This realness is what this drama is about. The play encourages the audience to feel the fresh passions that are our birthright, and promotes recovery and remembrance of our right to take pleasure in our life on this earth.
Episodic in form, CAPTAIN RUH relates tales about the clubhouse, antics, hangouts, friendships, girlfriends, beliefs, bullies, triumphs, disasters, and spiritual growth of the boys -- as well as perspectives from Granny, "a dead person," proprietor of Granny's Garage who meets the Captain at The Meeting Place of the Living and the Dead. The hero role of the play is acted by the Captain, both as a child during the 1950s and as an adult narrator of the past action.
The action of the play takes place mainly within three blocks of a Uniontown neighborhood, but also dramatizes the imaginary worlds of the play's two narrators. Some of the characters of the play include: "Guts" Gillen, "ToeNail" DeCarlo, "Lunch-Time" Steele, "NewGene" Kunkle, Richie "Catechism" Maier, Paul Farber, Dougie "Beans" Barnes, "Crustie" Cluss and "Worfty" Worft.
The conflict and dilemma of the play is how the clubhouse -- representing our genuine passions -- will survive childhood into adulthood and whether will Granny gain the information she needs to leave the earth once again. Granny provides insight into true passion as well as providing feminine perspective upon the antics of the boys.
The play's form follows closely that of classic "one person" shows -- only it is a two person show with narrated characters. The play's drama depends upon the dramatic irony of the two actors who perform the narration.
Testimonials. See comments by audiences from 12 performances in the Washington, DC area.
Play Outline by Scene. See titles of THE CAPTAIN RUH CLUB acts and scenes.
Russ Barnes Bio. Brief biography of the playright.
©2001 Russ Barnes. The Great Sassafras Tea Party Group, 5200 Pooks Hill Road, Bethesda, MD 20814. 301-564-3741
email your comments to Russ Barnes at (click on email address): rbarnes7@earthlink.net