‘Heisenberg’
Directed by Jim Dries
When: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23-24, March 6, 9 and 2:00 p.m. Feb. 25, for the Anna Andersen and Pat Owens cast; 7:30 p.m. Feb. 27, March 2-3, 10, and 2:00 p.m. March 4, 11, for the Mindy Gelder and Michael Aldrich cast
Where: Port Angeles Community Playhouse, 1235 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles
Tickets: $15 for adults, $8 at the door. Tuesdays $8 general admission at the door. Also available at Brocante at 105 W. 1st St. Port Angeles and online at http://www.pacommunityplayers.com/
Editor’s note: This show includes strong language and adult content. It is not suitable for younger audiences.
Get ready to study quantum mechanics in a whole new way with the upcoming show “Heisenberg,” set for the Port Angeles Community Playhouse starting Feb. 23.
Directed by Sequim ’s Jim Dries and written by Simon Stephens, “Heisenberg” explores the uncertainty principle proposed by German physicist Werner Heisenberg in the 1920s through two unlikely individuals who meet at a busy London train station.
“The play is about two different individuals who meet randomly,” Dries said.
The characters take the audience on what Dries describes as a “roller coaster” or something similar to “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.”
“You’re not sure where the character is going to go or what they’re going to say next,” Dries said.
Dries is a longtime actor and a director whose experience involves mostly musical theater and dramas. He is married to Carol Swarbrick, well-known in the Broadway and acting world for appearances in shows such as “Murder, She Wrote” and “The Incredible Hulk” television series, to name a few.
“Heisenberg” made its appearance on the Broadway stage closing in early 2017 and was performed in major theaters from California to Florida and across the globe.
Dries said this play is a mix of romantic comedy and drama revolving around the characters of Georgie Burns, a mysterious younger woman, and Alex Priest, a much older man. The interactions between these two characters reflect the idea of Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle — the more precisely the position of some particle is determined, the less precisely its momentum can be known, and vise versa.
“There is creativity in the relationships of the characters and a change of pace how the actors interact with each other,” Dries said.
“They aren’t characters within a story, but become real people,” he said. “And, each cast member reacts to each other differently.”
The show in Port Angeles features two different casts to play the roles of Priest and Burns. The cast members remain on stage for the entire show and serve as their own stagehands to move around the sets for each scene.
Actors Pat Owens and Anna Andersen will play Priest and Burns from Feb. 23-25, March 6, 9, and Mindy Gelder and Michael Aldrich are cast from Feb. 27, March 2-4, 10 and 11.
“It’s a wonderful piece for the audience and for the actors,” Dries said. “They have just made an incredible production out of it.”
“The actors are creating the scenes and the world they portray from their physical movements and it’s a different piece of theater.”
The characters and the story are not the only unique aspects of this show — Dries said if guests come back to the theater with their original ticket stubs to see a second show with a different cast, he or she will receive a discounted ticket on their second show.
The March 4 show also will include professional sign language interpreters for community members so the region’s deaf community also can enjoy this show.
Dries will offer talk-backs following March 4 and March 11 matinee performances.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 at the door. Tuesdays $8 general admission at the door. They are also available at Brocante, 105 W. First St., Port Angeles, and online at www.pacommunityplayers.com/.
