By Tara Kyle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CHELSEA — For drama fans who find Broadway prices out of reach, and big screen films too lowbrow, the Hudson Guild Theatre is offering a pair of bargain alternatives opening this weekend.
Performances of two criminal justice-themed plays — W. Somerset Maugham's "The Letter" and Erik Jensen and Jessica Blank's "The Exonerated" — make up the community theater company's spring program.
While a $10 donation is suggested at the 441 W. 26th Street door, admission is pay as you can, according to Hudson Guild Director of Arts Jim Furlong, whose mission is to expand opportunities for economically disadvantaged persons and minorities.
Those savings are possible for theatergoers because the productions themselves are pulled together with light wallets. The combined budgets of "The Letter" (a tale of murder in colonial, 1930s Malaysia) and "The Exonerated" (about six wrongfully convicted veterans of death row) run about $10,000-$12,000, according to Furlong.
That creates limitations for set design and costumes.
"It's tricky finding the right kind of plays for our group," said Furlong, who organizes three plays a year. "A period drawing room comedy might look a little bare on our stage."
Instead, Furlong selects dramas where an investment in pro theater lighting alone can go a long way toward creating a strong atmosphere. The string of monologues that make up "The Exonerated," for example, require little more on stage than chairs.
While the cast of "The Exonerated," a contemporary story, wear their own clothes, Furlong gets the period wardrobe necessary for "The Letter" at a cheap rental rates from neighboring Chelsea business The Costume Collection.
Furlong also searches for stories that will resonate with the population at the Elliott-Chelsea and Fulton houses, where the Hudson Guild is centered.
Both the stories in this spring's program feature racially diverse casts of characters. Additionally, he said he thought that some of the underprivileged teens the Hudson Guild works with might relate to the miscarriages of justice conveyed in "The Exonerated."
As for the performers themselves, who come from across the city but include residents of the housing developments and nearby Penn South, this year's choices have been popular.
"'The Exonerated' is cat nip for actors," Furlong said.
Performances of "The Exonerated" and "The Letter" are showing through April 2 at the Hudson Guild Theatre at 441 W. 26th Street.
