HSU Theatre Presents Dramatic Comedy Love/Sick

The Hardin-Simmons theatre department is excited to perform Love/Sick, a series of short plays that uses humor to depict love and agony in modern-day relationships. The shows will run November 7 – 10 at 7:30 p.m., and November 11 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for discounted admission. Students, faculty and staff may attend at no cost.

Described as “a darker cousin to Almost, Maine, John Cariani’s Love/Sick is a collection of nine slightly twisted and completely hilarious short plays,” in the show’s script. “Set on a Friday night in an alternate suburban reality, this 80- minute romp explores the pain and the joy that comes with being in love. Full of imperfect lovers and dreamers, Love/Sick is an unromantic comedy for the romantic in everyone.”

Nine short plays make up the show, each of which consists of a dialogue between two characters. The play opens in a superstore, where an eclectic man and woman fall in love at first sight. The second scene takes place in Louise Overbee’s apartment, where she receives an unexpected singing telegram. The following scenes explore love and pain through scenarios which all run simultaneously to one another. The setting is the linking factor within all nine stories; they all occur at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night in June, in an “alternate suburban reality,”

Love/Sick is a progression that is full of societal implications. Each couple is more mature than the one shown in the previous section. Playwright John Cariani makes note that “the people in Love/Sick dress well,” which notes that they are likely well educated and employed. This inference also leads the audience to understand that the people in the plays hold high expectations of happiness and success.

Justin Holland, one of the two directors for Love/Sick, says, “Playwright John Cariani has provided us with a beautiful 9-cycle story, and it is our job to make sure that, not only do all of the individual stories come to life but also, an overarching theme connects every single story within this play.”

Holland continues, “It is vital that every character and cast member be connected and committed to telling this story. At the beginning of the rehearsal process, we brainstormed with our cast to create an idea that fully represented our show. After working through a process that involved five stages of revision, our wonderful cast created one statement that captured the specific meaning of our show.  This statement reflects each of their individual views on life and what it means to be Love/Sick. We know that each person in our audience will comprehend this work differently, and we believe all will find bits of humanity within these stories.”

The cast’s statement is that “despite being different, all humans experience a never-ending cycle of changing, learning, and growing in their efforts to have their desires fulfilled,” The characters in Love/Sick are each at a crossroads, and the effect is that “a larger arc and a sense of forward progression take over as the parts come together to create a satisfying whole, one that chronicles the life cycle of a typical relationship…”