Heartfelt Comedy Presented By Lab Theater Project Through Nov. 19

TAMPA, FL — After a successful opening Nov. 2, LAB Theater Project will continue the presentation of its latest production, "The Heirs of Pretending" by playwright Jared Eberlein, through Nov. 19.

Set backstage at a theater, this sweet, melancholy comedy charts what happens when the dream of being in front of an audience again runs up against the realities of age, family, rivalry and the nature of theater itself.

Eberlein worked for nearly a decade as an actor in New York before turning his focus to the page. His plays, musicals and cabaret acts have been read and produced up and down the Eastern Seaboard and in Los Angeles.

This is the third time LAB has produced new works of his, starting with "Precious Thieves (2018)," and three short plays in "An Evening with Eberlein (2021)."

"The Heirs of Pretending is directed by LAB’s founding executive producer, Owen Robertson, who has been encouraging Eberlein’s script for "Heirs" since its original draft in 2015.

The play features local actors David Malloy, Rick Fernandez, Mandy Keen, James Skinner and Cas Hardy.

The costumes are by Corinne Todd; Rick Anthony designed the sound; and Robertson designed the set and lights.

In the play, veteran actor Burton Quinn is finally making his grand comeback in the Broadway musical he loves, the one that first brought him fame as a young man. Except this time, the out-of-town tryouts are way out in the sticks, he has aged out of his beloved romantic lead role, and
he has to share his dressing room with the new — and very green — romantic lead.

And if that weren’t bad enough, just before curtain, his son arrives with unwelcome news, and Burton must face a choice between the demands of his family and that of his mistress — the theater — that has always taken and never given back.

Robertson said the father-son relationship caught his attention when he first read "Heirs."

“Burton and John’s journey in this play rings deeply with me, and echoes some of the journey for my son and me," he said. "A father’s question of legacy, relationship and love is deep and can be agonizing.”

“I was terrified my son could grow up wishing I was more conventional,” said Eberlein, “wishing that his father was more like the normal dad his friends had, dads who had Saturday nights free for camping and not eight o’clock curtains.”

"The Heirs of Pretending" will be performed Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. in LAB’s theater space at 812 E Henderson Ave., on the western edge of Ybor City.

Taped performances will also be available on demand starting Nov. 16 and continuing through Nov. 30. Audience members who purchase on-demand tickets will be emailed a link to the video site.

Tickets for "The Heirs of Pretending" are $31 online and $35 at the door.