From STC's Raised in Captivity: 
Joey Hood and David Stahl. 
Photo copyright Brett Brookshire, 1998.

Produced by the Subterranean Theatre Company in September 1998 at the Hyde Park Theatre, Austin, Texas. Directed by Ken Webster.

About the play
In this darkly comic look at love, guilt, and the potentially lethal nature of shower massages, Bernadette and Sebatsian, twins who haven't seen each other in over a dozen years, are reunited at their mother's funeral.

What the critics said . . .
"Berry projects a hilariously vacant optimism; beatifically adoring the moon, his face is as bright and round and, well, moon-y as the object of his affection. And Cyndi Williams is in top form as the seriously penitent Hillary, wearing her self-denial where everybody can see it -- well, except for Hillary herself -- and patiently allowing those, um, dark gags based on her sightlessness to draw laughter with just a deadpan face and expert timing. . . . While no one is likely to confuse Raised in Captivity with Long Day's Journey Into Night, its characters offer more shading than the typical Silver satire. . . . Subterranean's production mines this deeper mood for a notable resonance. Most of it is seen in the performances -- in the profound yearning in David Stahl's eyes as his Sebastian looks toward us for comfort, in the softness and measured tones of regret in Joey Hood's voice as the inmate -- but also in Chase Staggs' set, the pervasive pale blue of which echoes a swimming pool, a place suggesting both childhood play and a place where one may drown. Director Ken Webster and crew have fashioned a piece as satisfying in its balance of humor and pathos as their 1996 production of Sin."
Austin Chronicle (click here to read the entire Chronicle review)

"Dark comedies have held the American stage for the past decade, and director Ken Webster of Subterranean Theatre has directed some of the darkest--and funniest--of Silver's plays at Hyde Park Theatre. . . . there's nothing like a dark comedy for sweeping away your cares. Compared with the Blisses, your life, no matter how bleak, is likely to seem a liberated day in the park."
Austin American Statesman

"Stahl's portrayl of this neurotic, celibate, broke, gay man is dry enough to be darkly humorous. . .. Berry is the biggest goof of the cast, reveling in his role as a clueless space cadet who eventually falls for the self-abusing, penitent therapist Hillary, herself given the show's best characterization by Williams. . . . The Hyde Park Theatre is an exaggeration of the word 'intimate'--it's tiny. So you get to see every twitch these folks make on stage, meaning they need to be good to pull it off. And they are."
The Daily Texan

Awards and Nominations

Critics' Table Nominations
Nominated as Best Comedy 1998-99
David Stahl for Best Actor in a Comedy
Ron Berry for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Joey Hood for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Designers and Staff
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ken Webster
Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chase Staggs
Costume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diane Morrison
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Don Day
Sound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kevin Friedman
Props . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glenn Breed
Stage Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tammy Whitehead

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