The China Shop | November 8-10, 15-17 2024 | Studio Theatre 
AACT NewPlay Fest World Premiere
A Literate Comedy by Richard Manley

Ending years of self-exile following the death of his wife, semi-famous poet Derby Walters quietly accepts a house-sitting invitation for a Manhattan Co-Op. Wanting to inconspicuously slip back into society at his own pace, Derby is repeatedly thwarted by an inquisitive female neighbor, her pushy mother, snobby members of the Co-Op Board, and a lawyer determined to have him thrown out of the building for what seems like a murky past. His hopes for privacy fail miserably, but for one infuriating exception, who forces the overly intellectual Derby to recognize that happiness is often a matter of recognizing the potential of “matches, struck unexpectedly in the dark.”

For mature audiences.