Saturday Samplers Book Group to Discuss "Shows For Days"

Bernardsville Library’s book group, Saturday Samplers, will meet on Saturday, October 7 at 11:00 am to discuss "Shows For Days" (2015), a play by Douglas Carter Beane. [The author will not be present.] The group will also attend a performance of the play by the Chester Theatre Group; the play runs on weekends through October 1st. Go to https://www.chestertheatregroup.org for performance information.

The play is a comedy set in May 1973 when a young man wanders into a dilapidated community theater in Reading, PA. The company members welcome him with open arms, perhaps only because they need a set painter! He then proceeds to soak up all the idealism and craziness that comes with being part of a struggling theater company with big dreams. According to the playwright, "This story isn’t the truth. It’s the only way I know how to tell the truth, which is through fiction.”

Douglas Carter Beane is an American playwright and screenwriter. Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, Beane now lives in New York. His other works include the screenplay of To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and several plays including The Country Club and The Little Dog Laughed, which was nominated for the 2007 Tony Award for Best Play, and As Bees in Honey Drown, which ran at New York's Lucille Lortel Theatre in 1997.

Saturday Samplers is a book discussion group dedicated to sampling various kinds of literature, including short stories, nonfiction, new and old novels, and teen fiction. Its goal is to search out interesting, noteworthy, and sometimes overlooked literary and narrative works. No sign-up is needed to join the discussion. Call the library at 766-0118 for more information.