TimesLeader.com

Getting back in the game

By Mary Therese Biebel mbiebel@timesleader.com
Features Writer

Even if you don’t know how to play mah jongg, you probably know this one fact about the complex tile game:

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John FitzGibbon, Joe Jamrog, Evan Thompson and Michael Collins star in the world premiere of Richard Atkins’ new comedy ‘The Men of Mah Jongg’ from Wednesday through Nov. 23 at the Electric Theatre in Scranton.

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Michael Fallon portrays World War II hero Gino Merli in a play by local writer Tom Flannery.

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It’s usually considered ladies’ territory.

That might explain why the four gentlemen in Richard Atkins’ comedy “The Men of Mah Jongg” play it secretly. They don’t want word to get around and reflect badly on their manhood.

Yet as they embrace this game that is supposed to be a bastion of tea-sipping, makeup-wearing, photos-of-the-grandkids-sharing women, they do seem to get in touch with their feminine side.

“The playwright uses (the game) as a device to parallel their growth emotionally. As they play, the men learn how to give each other emotional support, to be more nourishing in their friendship,” said David Zarko, artistic director of The Electric Theatre, where preview productions begin Wednesday.

The characters are four older men, all in their 60s and 70s, who are mourning women who “have died or are dying or are somehow absent in their lives,” Zarko said.

One widower is particularly despondent and housebound, so his friends drop by to cheer him up, but nothing – not even a manly game of poker – seems to help.

Then they try mah jongg and find it fascinating.

If you think the show itself sounds fascinating, you’ll find performances Wednesday through Nov. 23 at the Electric Theatre Co., 326 Spruce St. in Scranton. For tickets, call 558-1515 or see electrictheatre.org.

After its Northeast Pennsylvania debut, the show will move to Queens Theatre in the Park in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., in what Zarko hopes will become an on-going collaboration for future productions.

In other news, as Veterans Day approaches, the Scranton Public Theatre invites area veterans to see “The Last Thoughts of Gino Merli” when it presents the one-man show at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Holy Redeemer High School in Wilkes-Barre and at 9 a.m. Nov. 7 at Wyoming Area Secondary Center in Exeter.

The play, written by area playwright Tom Flannery, is a tribute to the late Gino Merli of Peckville who received the Medal of Honor for his heroism during World War II.

“It’s a wonderful piece of theater,” spokesman Bob Shlesinger said. “It’s a perfect tribute to the veterans of our country, no matter what war.”

Shlesinger wants younger generations to learn Merli’s story, and happily reports that more than 10,000 high-school students saw the show last year and close to 8,000 will see it this year.

“Last Thoughts,” starring Mike Fallon as Merli, also will be performed at the Olde Brick Theatre, 128 W. Market St. in Scranton at 8:15 tonight and tomorrow night and at 7 p.m. Sunday. All tickets are $10. Call 344-3656 for reservations.