Growing up in Freedom, Beaver County, Ray Werner recalls a kitchen filled with people and love.
Where: PICT Classic Theater at WQED’s Fred Rogers Studio, 4802 Fifth Ave., Oakland.
When: Previews: 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, opening 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Then 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
Tickets: $48 ($15 for 18 and younger, recommended for 14 and older); picttheatre.org or412-561-6000.
He had dedicated his latest play, "Run the Rabbit Path," to his parents. It takes place in a kitchen much like the one he remembers from his childhood, although he was one of five, and his new play tells the tale of three siblings.
PICT Classic Theatre stages the world premiere at Fred Rogers Studio, WQED in Oakland, from Jan. 31 to Feb. 16. The father of the trio is a strong presence in the play, just as memories of Mr. Werner's father remains a strong presence in his life.
"He would write poems to my mother, and leave them around the house for her to find," Mr. Werner said. "That tells you the kind of guy he was. One of those poems is in the play."
Being a playwright is a second career for Mr. Werner, 80, a Point Breeze resident for 47 years. He was in advertising and raised a family while continually writing spec scripts for television ("one almost made it") and novels ("now in a drawer").
But 12 years ago, when he was "retired," he felt the need to give it a go as a playwright. He had studied writing at Yale after graduating Duquesne, "and I owed it to my parents not to give up."
His work has been seen mostly at, appropriately, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company, which recently held "The Ray Werner Festival" of works by the writer.
“I've been humbled and almost embarrassed by all the attention to my work, but of course elated and thankful, as well,” Mr. Werner said. “There have been about 32 actors, five directors total with the RayFest and PICT combined, and then think of the stage managers, crew and, my goodness, the casting sessions. I write for actors, and hear their voices in my head when I write, which keeps me going.”
In 2017, "Run the Rabbit Path" had a reading at the Threadbare New Play Reading Series created by playwrights Tammy Ryan and Sharon Dilworth.
The play has seen changes since then, tweaked and trimmed, but is essentially the same story:
"In the shadow of Pittsburgh’s steel mills, two Irish American brothers and their sister struggle through the trauma of planning their father’s wake, in the kitchen where he died the day before. Their father's love guides them through the morass of emotions as they stumble onto the mystery of the rabbit path."
The cast, directed by Alan Stanford, includes Post-Gazette Performer of the Year James FitzGerald as Pops, with Tony Bingham, Karen Baum and Reed Alan Worth as the brothers and sister.
“Run the Rabbit Path” isn’t an autobiography, Mr. Werner is quick to say. A story about his family would be quite different, and about his parents? “Theirs was a great love story,” he said.
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg. Sign up for the PG performing arts newsletter Behind the Curtain at Newsletter Preferences.
First Published: January 31, 2019, 5:00 a.m.
