Cambridge resident, Damon Singletary, performs April 8 through April 28 at The Newburyport Actor's Studio production of "The Agawam," a play set entirely inside the Agawam Diner one mysterious wintry night. The Agawam, a real-life diner founded in 1940 and located in Rowley, MA, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is renowned for the range and deliciousness of its pies, and makes the perfect setting for this intense and amusing drama.

Asked about what the play is about, Singletary, who has performed in numerous productions in New England during his 30-year acting career, said "To me, the play is about life, death, love and faith...and pie! When I first read it, though, I was immediately reminded of a classic Twilight Zone episode."

Audience members at a recent performance experienced this combined sense of humor and "otherwordliness," as characters entered the diner, ordered coffee and pie - thankfully, Agawam pie is available during intermission, as audience members desire for blueberry, apple, coconut custard, banana cream and many more continues to build during Act I - and talked about the things that give their lives meaning (or not).
The skillful writing and acting masterfully reveal levels of complexity of each of the characters as the play progresses. The author uses the diner setting creatively to frame the unfolding drama.

Singletary commented on his character, Sully, who is the first customer in the play to enter the diner, and starts out with some low-level flirtation with the waitress and – of course – pie. “One of the most interesting things to me about Sully is childhood. I mean, how does a guy who looks like me get to be called Sully? His life is clearly non-linear; he's also clearly got some issues. (Don't we all?) The other thing is that he has the most dynamic arc of all the characters in the show. As written, his Act I motivation is so different from his Act II motivation, that it can be difficult for the audience to buy. It creates a challenge for me to solve the problem, though. That process of discovering the solution is still ongoing for me, so if you were to see the show next week, you may see a different Sully in Act II! Maybe, as a salesman, he is a bit more cynical about what he just saw (at the end of Act I), causing most of his dialog to be questions instead of emphatic declarations.”

Where: The Actors Studio of Newburyport. The Tannery, 50 Water Street, Mill #1
When: April 8 through 25. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 5pm
Tickets: $15 ($13 Seniors/Students). Space is limited – reservations strongly encouraged

More about the play, tickets, and history of the Agawam Diner at:
http://newburyportacting.org/images/agawam/index.html