From the Dramaturg's Desk:

Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille premiered in December 1986 at the Philadelphia Festival Theatre for New Plays where author Bruce Graham is currently Playwright-in-Residence and Interim Artistic Director. The play was subsequently produced in New York City by the WPA Theatre.

Graham's other plays include Moon Over the Brewery, Burkie, Minor Demons, Devious Means, Belmont Avenue Social Club, Top of the World, The Champagne Charlie Stakes, A Very Nice Neighborhood, and Desperate Affection. In addition to his play writing credits, Graham co-wrote the recent film Dunston Checks In, starring Jason Alexander and Faye Dunaway and the animated feature Anastasia, with Meg Ryan and Angela Lansbury.

Frequently compared to playwright Neil Simon, Graham's forte is turning ordinary situations into the stuff of comedy. As you watch this production, notice how Graham uses comedy to cut to the core of some of the fundamental issues of human nature -- in the words of the playwright, "the stupidity and greed of people in general." In a 1986 interview, Graham summed up the theme of Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar & Grille nicely when he noted that "It all comes down to human decency and common sense to keep us from wiping ourselves out."
 

Director's Notes:

"Yet men have come to such a pass that they frequently starve, not for want of necessaries, but for want of luxuries. . ." Thoreau

"God is love.
Love is blind,
Therefore. . .
God is blind." Men's room wall Temple University

"I'm doing the best I can to stay calm in a very strange situation."   Shep

The Scene

Act One: A Small Town Bar. Early one evening. Beginning of summer.
Act Two: Immediately following. (No time elapses between acts.)

This production was dedicated to the memories of  Ted Hoagland and John Lacey.  May their passion for the theatre live on in our hearts forever.

"Early One Evening at the Rainbow Bar and Grille" was originally produced by the Philadelphia Festival Theatre of New Plays and the Annenburg Center, December 1986. Originally produced in New York City by the WPA Theater, 1989 (Kyle Renick, Artistic Director). Produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.