Budget woes kill bay play

Hometown Annapolis
By Theresa Winslow
March 15, 2010

So much for local theater history.

The Bay Theatre Co. decided this week to cancel the world premiere of a play by noted playwright D.L. Coburn that had been set to open at the end of next month.

Bay Theatre co-founder Janet Luby said an unexpected royalty bill from a past play, lower donations and higher costs than anticipated for "Return to Bluefin" forced the cancellation.

"This was a hard call to make," she sighed. "It's definitely not what we wanted to have happen."

"Return to Bluefin" concerns preserving the Chesapeake Bay and the waterman's way of life. Luby and

Bay Theatre's other co-founder, Lucinda Merry-Browne, thought it'd be a perfect fit as well as a big honor for the Annapolis troupe, but couldn't justify continuing with plans for the show when they worked out their finances.

Coburn, who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Gin Game" and lives in Texas, befriended the women after they put on the well-known work last season.

Coburn had already flown here for auditions, and was surprised and angered by Bay Theatre's decision. He said the troupe has known what it would cost to put on his play for about a year.

"I'm not real happy about it, and I'm trying to understand it," he said. "It really doesn't make any sense, to tell you the truth."

In place of "Bluefin," Bay Theatre decided Thursday to put on "Souvenir: A Fantasia on the Life of Florence Foster Jenkins" by Stephen Temperley. It's a two-person show that will cost significantly less than Coburn's play, Luby said.

"Souvenir," based on an early 20th century socialite soprano renowned for her lack of musical ability, is set to open on April 30.