Local Playwright's Award-Winning Show Comes To Somers Point

SOMERS POINT, NJ — "Calliope Rose," the mythological mystery comedy by Cape May playwright Bill Sterritt, will return to South Jersey for four weekends in August. Shows will take place at Studio;Space in Somers Point on Aug. 6-8, 12, 14-15, 20-22 and 27- 29.

"Calliope Rose" centers around an eccentric mother, Rose (played by Strathmere's Ruthellen Cheney) who wishes for her daughter, Athena (Evie Brandford-Altsher) to portray the "Greek Ideal." As mom waxes poetic and daughter schemes to turn a lighthouse into a money-making tourist trap, a ship suspiciously sinks nearby causing Dexter, a government official (Dave Polgar), to investigate. Both mom and daughter are smitten by the handsome man, and the makings of an authentic Greek comedy ensue.

“'Calliope Rose' has something for everyone,” Sterritt said in a press release.. “There’s a love triangle, a little mystery, some laughs … but best of all, the play is unlike anything else you’ll see here in South Jersey. The ending is left open to interpretation on purpose – we want to make you think.”

Actors Cheney, Brandford-Altsher, and Polgar have been seen in recent SPQR productions at Studio;Space such as “Derby Day,” “Magic Flowers,” and a weekend of original one-acts. Sterritt will also make a cameo appearance in this production.

"Calliope Rose" was written in 1989 and was a semi-finalist at the Sundance Institute’s Playlabs. In 2018, the show was mounted at the Cape May Airport during the Cape May Fringe Festival.

“Calliope Rose” is “an edgy, conceptual work suggesting that our civilization cannot survive a total rupture from its past,” according to Hugh Hunter of the Philadelphia Inquirer (review: July 2018), while Mary Crawford of Exit Zero said this of the play (review: July 2018), “Sterritt’s witty dialogue starkly illuminates the conflict between the ancient ideals of beauty and honor versus the grubby materialism of the modern day.”

Tickets are $20 in advance on Eventbrite.com or at the door. Show times are: 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, 2 p.m. Sunday matinees. The running time is 70 minutes. The play is rated PG-13. You may BYOB. Studio;Space is located at 112 Woodland Ave. in Somers Point. A performance of “Calliope Rose” will be live-streamed on Aug. 14 for $20. For more information, go to StudioSpaceSPNJ.com.