Anthony Lawton & Leonard C. Haas

Tom Stoppard’s Travesties is being performed by Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater 923 Ludlow Street, Philadelphia, Pa. through October 9, 2022. Stoppard has done it again! While none of his works are similar in nature,   ( The Lantern has produced 6 of them), they are all large in scope, almost like a 1,000-piece puzzle that seems impossible to understand at first glance but appears less intricate as pieces fit into place.  Travesty is defined as “a false, absurd, or misrepresentation of something”. There is a bit of all three in Travesties. Enjoy the ride! Scenic Designer Nick Embree did an excellent job with the sets that convert back and forth from libraries to apartments. The brilliant lighting and sound designs engineered by Drew Billiau and Christopher Colucci also indicate scene changes as well as spotlighting Cecily (Campbell O’Hare) waving  goodbye to Lenin( Gregory Isaac) as he leaves Switzerland by train to go to Russia to join a Revolution. The eight-member ensemble cast is fantastic. James Joyce (Anthony Lawton – who is ALWAYS SUPERB ) and  Tristan Tzsara (Dave Johnson) are both in love with Cecily while she and Gwendolyn ( Morgan Charéce ) are in love with someone named Jack ( Leonard Haas )who is actually playing Henry Carr while pretending to be Jack. Confused yet? Come see the outstanding set and the superb performances and figure it all out. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.lanterntheater.org or calling 215-829-0389.