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The Activity Column
Catherine Dugan’s guide to getting out there... this week, enjoy a show at Cape May Stage!
There’s an old saying — garbage doesn’t
lie. You can tell yourself you’ve cut down
on your consumption of Hershey’s
Kisses, but that growing pile of silver
wrappers in the trash tells the truth. The
same is true for your good habits, like overestimating
how much healthy food we consume.
We could count the apple cores or banana peels
in the garbage if we really wanted to. A peek
into our recycling bin tells a similar tale — the
gossip magazines reveal why we didn’t finish
our assigned summer reading. Archaeologists
know this, which is why they study the remnants
of ancient civilizations to figure out how our
predecessors lived. Garbage haulers also know
this, and that is the basis of the comedy currently
playing at Cape May Stage.
Billed as a “hopeful story about finding
common ground in uncommon times,” “The
Garbologists” is an unlikely buddy comedy. It
follows sanitation workers Marlowe and Danny
through Marlowe’s first days on the job. The
two are very different, but perhaps not in the
ways that really matter. Danny, the voice of
experience, has contempt for people who fail to
recognize that life is like cheese — you need a
little stink to make it work. Most people never
think about sanitation, he notes. “They think
the Garbage Fairies take it away in the middle
of the night. Poof! Street’s clean.” Marlowe, a
college-educated woman new to this union job,
is initially dismissive of her co-worker, though
she appreciates the tips about “reading the
bags” to avoid “splishing,” bed bugs and excess
weight. Marlowe and Danny hunt for “mongo”
as they go — the treasure that may be found in
trash. Among their discoveries are connections
between people, and the realization that it’s not
just their work that makes people essential.
“The Garbologists,” written by Lindsay
Joelle, directed by Roy Steinberg, and starring
Michael Basile and Serena Ebony Miller,
runs through October 22, Wednesday through
Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 3pm. Visit capemaystage.org
for tickets and more. The play is
recommended for ages 16 and over and runs for
90 minutes. Tickets are available online or at the
box office for around $47.
Next up for Cape May Stage will be “A Tuna
Christmas” by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and
Ed Howard running November 15th through
December 30th. Theater lovers can also consider
the East Lynne Theater Company, where “Love
Letters” plays through October 14, “Tales of
Horror Suspense” plays October 27 and 28, and
the radio-style play “The Death of Holmes?”
plays November 3 and 4 and 10 and 11. Visit
eastlynnetheater.org for tickets and more.
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October 12, 2023 EXIT ZERO Page 43