Harlequin Productions presents the professional world premiere of Panowski Playwriting Award-winner Building Madness by regional playwright and USA Today best-selling novelist Kate Danley, March 17 – April 1, 2023 at the State Theater in downtown Olympia, WA. Scott Nolte, co-founder and Producing Artistic Director Emeritus of Taproot Theatre Company, will direct.
Max and Paul are just trying to keep their architecture company afloat, but they accidentally
hired the mob to build a police retirement home. They may never get the project done in this
screwball comedy, but they are most definitely building madness. If you love those great old
comedies from Hollywood’s Golden Era of the 1930s, you will love this!
In selecting this play for the 2023 season, Harlequin takes the opportunity to produce a new
voice from this region. In an interview with playwright Kate Danley, she writes:
I’m so excited to see my words brought to life by the professional team at Harlequin. As a
playwright, I have found a script is never done. It is always a conversation, and each
production deepens my understanding of the characters and the world and enlightens me
in ways I never would have seen on my own. It is what makes this art form so exciting.
When you publish a book, that’s that. But when you send a script out into the world, it’s
just the beginning. It becomes greater than you and a conglomerate of each person who
touches it.
And I have to say, in addition to this being Building Madness’s professional world premiere,
this is my first professional production, full stop. It is an enormous honor, and I am eternally
grateful to Harlequin Productions for taking the risk to support new work and my voice.
(And I will absolutely be there to see the show multiple times! I can hardly wait!)
When Ms. Danley submitted her play to Producing Artistic Director Aaron Lamb, he was
immediately intrigued that a playwright would write a 1930s-style screwball comedy in the
current day. Asked about that decision, she writes:
One of the tropes of screwball was placing female characters front and center and there
were enormous opportunities for comedic women during this era. I think as we continue
to have the conversation about women in comedy, the world of screwball gives the actors
of today a “norm” of freedom that is rare to find in modern plays.
They say, “Write what you know,” but I’m more of a believer that you should “Write what
you love.” And I have always loved the storytelling of the Golden Age. Some of my
favorite memories were sitting around with my family watching Fred Astaire and Ginger
Rodgers every Sunday night and listening to the radio shows of Gracie Allen and George
Burns.
The writing from this era is so rooted in wit, language, rhythms, and wordplay. That is a
ball pit of joy to dive into and explore.
In his first time directing at Harlequin, Scott Nolte will bring a mixture of Harlequin veterans
(Nathan Rice, Matt Shimkus*, Helen Harvester and Angela DiMarco) and first-timers (Emma
Baker and James William Clark) to the stage. Writes Mr. Nolte, “I’m the ‘new guy’ and very
pleased with the collective enthusiasm and mutual support that everyone has brought to our
production. And everyone has been generous in bringing me into Harlequin’s style and process of creating great theatre for its audiences. Building Madness is comedy – full stop. I think the cast and I will need to focus on the mechanics of snappy dialogue, comedic timing, and the physical shenanigans like slamming doors, spinning chairs, and pratfalls. All actors and directors know that comedy is hard work!”
Tickets are available online at harlequinproductions.org, by phone at 360-786-0151,