Escape
Lying in wait with a shotgun, Gus, an unemployed elevator repairman, keeps his neighbors and his wife in the crosshairs. Next door lives an actress—a Marilyn Monroe look-alike—held captive by Daddy, a universal terrorist on the run. And in the next apartment, the grandson of Harry Houdini struggles to free himself from his own chains. Release is on everyone’s mind, but can anyone ever escape?
Cast Requirements
3 women
3 men
Press
"Mosakowski's comedy occasionally ventures into dark territory but ably makes her point about the hilarious extremes that people will endure before attempting a getaway from their absurd and isolated lives. Designer Lauren Helpern's economical set divvies up the space into three convincing homes in a working-class neighborhood, where events play out in simultaneous action. . . . director Gaye Taylor Upchurch's concise staging weaves the characters in and out of each other's playing areas, . . . it's all in the service of Mosakowski's delightful comedy.
--Backstage
"You can get dizzy trying to keep track of the comings and goings in "Escape," Susan Mosakowski's comedy about three troubled couples. Performed in spearate, distinct areas of the tiny La MaMa stage, each representing an apartment, it's like an intricate, downtown theater version of " Desparate Housewives."
--New York Post
Production and Development History
Escape premiered at La MaMa, June 7, 2012
Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch
Set Design by Lauren Helpern
Lighting Design by Traci Klainer Polimeni
Costumes by Sarah J. Holden
Sound by Bart Fasbender
Stage Manager: Michelle Kelleher
ASM: Brandon Stock
With
Carlo Albán, Lauren Fortgang, Susan Louise O’Connor, Ted Schneider, John Sharian, and Samantha Soule
Developed: New Dramatists with the support from the Creativity Fund 2009.
Readings: New Dramatists 2008, 2009.
A grant was awarded to support the creation of Escape from New York Foundation for the Arts Artists’ Fund, 2008.