What: Curio Theatre Company presents "What the Butler Saw" by Joe Orton

Where : Calvary Center, 4740 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19143

When: April 24th through May 17th: Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 4pm & 8pm

Curio Theatre Company presents Joe Orton's final and best play, "What the Butler Saw." West Philadelphia will descend into a madcap romp of mistaken identity, gender confusion, and naughty intrigue, starting April 24th. Barrymore Awards eligible.

The play begins as any ordinary day at the private practice of Dr. Prentice (played by Ken Opdenaker), psychiatrist. But when Dr. Prentice decides the best way to interview prospective secretary Geraldine Barclay (Erika Hicks) is to seduce her, the lies start piling up as soon as his wife interrupt him (Aetna Gallager). Mrs. Prentice has just been seduced by hotel bellhop Nicholas Beckett (Delante Keys). or is it the other way around? The bellhop tries to blackmail his way into a secretarial job, but further complications arise with the arrival of government inspector Dr. Rance (CJ Keller) and Sergeant Match (Jerry Rudasill). The lines between sanity and madness, doctor and patient, and male and female quickly start to blur as the bellhop tries to stay out of jail, the Sergeant tries to solve the case, Dr. Rance tries to cure everyone, Dr. Prentice tries to hide Geraldine, and Geraldine tries to get her own clothes back!

Orton's wild melee of disappearances, disguises and discoveries was called "Hilarious, outrageous... toying with words as if they were firecrackers. And the ending is a delight that Oscar Wilde might have dreamed up in a sequel to "The Importance of Being Earnest." - The NY Times "It's the kind of play Wilde might have written if he lived in the 1960s and didn't pull any punches," said director Liam Castellan.

Joe Orton was murdered by his lover Kenneth Halliwell, and never saw "What the Butler Saw" performed. But given his views on modern religion, "I think he'd smile if he heard that it was being performed in a church sanctuary, flanked by 25-foot tall depictions of Jesus in Tiffany stained glass," added Castellan.

Performances run from April 24th through May 17th at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community, 4740 Baltimore Avenue, Philadelphia; Thursdays at 7pm, Fridays at 8pm, and Saturdays at 4pm & 8pm. Tickets are $22, $19 for students and seniors, $10 for children 12 and under.

Visit our website at www.curiotheatre.org, email boxoffice@curiotheatre.org, or call 215-525-1350 for more information.

Full dates:
Thursday, April 24 - 7pm preview
Friday, April 25 - 8pm OPENING NIGHT
Saturday, April 26 - 4pm
Saturday, April 26 - 8pm
Thursday, May 1 - 7pm
Friday, May 2 - 8pm
Saturday, May 3 - 4pm
Saturday, May 3 - 8pm
Thursday, May 8 - 7pm
Friday, May 9 - 8pm
Saturday, May 10 - 4pm
Saturday, May 10 - 8pm
Thursday, May 15 - 7pm
Friday, May 16 - 8pm
Saturday, May 17 - 4pm
Saturday, May 17 - 8pm