unplanned *Mice* preview

Wednesday, May 3: a cast member in the production of *Laughter on the 23rd Floor* is running late — well, actually, forgot altogether that there was a show that night. What to do?

*Of Mice and Men,* the next Interplayers show, is there that night rehearsing. Why not set up a couple of music stands and have George and Lenny (George Green and Troy Nickerson) give the already assembled, waiting crowd a little foretaste of what the Steinbeck show (opening June 1) would be like, with just the two principals delivering a kind of impromptu readers' theater performance of the play's first scene?

Which brings up an interesting point: Maybe theaters should do this more often. Instead of hyped-up curtain speeches — come see our thrilling/hilarious/mesmerizing production of yadda-yadda — theaters could showcase a 10-minute scene of their upcoming show at, say, 7:40 pm; then let the crowd in from the lobby (those who arrive late or don't care for such fare); then the curtain at 8 pm. Just a thought.