
Melancholy Play by Sarah Ruhl
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November 10-24, 2018
Tilly’s melancholy is of an exquisite quality. She turns her melancholy into a sexy thing, and every stranger she meets falls in love with her. One day, inexplicably, Tilly becomes happy, and wreaks havoc on the lives of her paramours. Frances, Tilly’s hairdresser, becomes so melancholy that she turns into an almond. It is up to Tilly to get her back. -Samuel French
*Produced in association with Samuel French




Directed by Carla Nell
Design & Support Team: Kym Pappas (Producers), Kelsie Morris (Stage Manager), Ron Logan (Scenic Design), Robert Malave (Lighting Design), Kym Pappas (Costume Design), Carla Nell & Vanessa Dinning (Sound Design),
Linda Lien Ribardi (Graphic & Web Design), Jim Carmody (Photography)
Cast: Hannah Logan, Patrick Mayuyu, Scott Striegel, Cristyn Chandler and Vanessa Dinning
"What the InnerMission production does have, under co-artistic director (and sound designer) Carla Nell’s tuned-in direction, are some crisp and often witty performances by the five-member cast."
-James Hebert, San Diego Union Tribune
"Just go with it and let the surreal whimsy flow over you. The excellent cast at InnerMission Productions is certainly taking it seriously.
Their staging is amusingly fanciful, but also precise and grounded. Tautly directed by Carla Nell, it features a marvelous performance by Hannah Logan as Tilly, who displays an eye-popping array of emotions."
-Pat Launer, Center Stage
“This culture has any number of “remedies” for melancholy, which Ruhl chooses to recognize as an emotional state that runs as deep as any other. It defies clinical definition (which is likely why Ruhl waxes so philosophical on it) — even so, its aftereffects are profound and, once sentimentalized, can powerfully skew the poles at either end of one’s emotional spectrum. That is its danger and, by extension, the play’s success.”
-Martin Jones Westlin, San Diego Story
“Bravo to InnerMission for another fine production, and to Carla Nell for her tuned-in direction of this fascinating, peculiar piece. She’s found the right cast (Logan is a standout as the embodiment of melancholy) and given them what they need to give us a wild and woolly ride. InnerMission and Sarah Ruhl have done it again.”
-Jean Lowerison, SDGLN
"In spite of the determined weight and absurdity of Melancholy Play, the production (directed by InnerMission’s Carla Nell) is a balm for the anxiety of life at its most hectic. The nearly slow-motion action of the players is hypnotic, chiefly Logan’s Tilly, who wrings every ounce of emotion from her haunted character, whether it’s by succumbing to sobs or earnestly addressing an almond in her hands. "
-David L. Coddon, San Diego Citybeat
