McKeever

Palm Beach Dramaworks (PBD) will next feature multi award-winning playwright Michael McKeever’s work  in the company’s “Contemporary Voices” series.

Specifically, PBD will present three of McKeever’s plays as readings on three consecutive Monday evenings next month. The nonprofit, professional theater company will follow those readings each Wednesday with discussions about the plays.

The festivities will begin on June 2. That is when PBD Producing Artistic Director Bill Hayes will host a pre-recorded conversation with McKeever.

The first featured play will be The Garden of Hannah List. It premiered at Florida Stage during the 1997-98 season. McKeever described the piece as “the play that officially made me a playwright.” The reading will take place at 7:30 p.m. EST on June 7. A discussion will follow at 7:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, June 9.

Following The Garden of Hannah List, PBD will present a reading of The Code at 7:30 p.m. EST June 14. Two days later, also at 7:30 p.m. EST, panelists will discuss The Code.

To end the series, PBD will feature the Off-Broadway hit Daniel’s Husband at 7:30 p.m. EST on June 21, with a discussion at 7:30 p.m. EST on June 23.

While all readings and discussions are free, PBD requires reservations. To make them, go to www.palmbeachdramaworks.org and click on the “Contemporary Voices” tab under “Online Programming.” According to the website, ticket sales are unavailable through Monday, May 24.

McKeever has written 30 full-length plays that theaters around the world have produced.

What follows is a synopsis of each featured play in the “Contemporary Voices” series.

• The Garden of Hannah List — Hannah List lives in a large and comfortable home in Nuremberg, Germany in 1939. Within the peaceful setting of her glorious and well-maintained garden, she and her family face a dilemma: take a stand or do nothing as the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
• The Code — Hollywood, 1950. Before a dinner party at the home of director George Cukor, Billy Haines, interior designer to the stars, invites a handful of friends, including Tallulah Bankhead, for cocktails. When agent Henry Willson arrives with his newest protégé, Chad Manford, a simple request turns into a heated debate on the hypocrisy of what it takes to be a star in the land of make-believe.
• Daniel’s Husband — Mitchell Howard does not believe in gay marriage. His partner, Daniel Bixby, does. Before they can resolve their difference of opinion, fate intervenes. This Off-Broadway hit explores the devastating consequences that can occur when people deny fundamental rights to their fellow humans.