Sarasota's Starlite Players present an evening of original short plays

Sarasota's Starlite Players are back this week with another of their monthly anthologies of new comedies by local playwrights. The April collection is titled "Let Me call You Sweetheart" and it includes four short plays about love. They are:

"Guaranteed" by James McLindon, directed by Mark Woodland. An inept robber (Brannon Westfall) tries to hold up a bank, not expecting a teller (Cindy Schlotterback), who can't wait to share what she's learning in law school, and a drunken cop (Daniel Greene). Instead of cash, the robber gets a lesson in law and love.

"The Hetero Chorus Boy" by Jack Gilhooley, directed by Kathy Junkins. Sean (Logan Junkins) is a straight, though closeted, Broadway chorus boy. But a waitress Roxy (Rachel Knowles) may "out" him. In addition, his best friend, Deana (Amanda Heisey), wants more than a platonic relationship.

"Co-Dependents" by Gilhooley and Jo Morello, directed by Woodland. Gilhooley and Morello, husband-and-wife playwrights, wrote this play about ... husband-and-wife playwrights (Joseph Giglia and Andrea Keddell). The fictional couple struggles with failing careers and a faltering marriage. They get a taste of single life in encounters with a fake cowboy (Daniel Greene) and a real cop (Heather Forte). Probably not autobiographical.

"The Naked Truth" by Tom Sivak, directed by Jenny Aldrich Walker. Georgie (Heisey), her boyfriend (Logan Junkins) and a policewoman (Cindy Schlotterback) may not know it but the first rule of improvisational theater is "never say no." But the emcee (Scott Vitale) knows he's looking for the naked truth.

Details: April 21-24, The Starlite Room, 1001 Cocoanut Ave., Sarasota. Show times: 7:30 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $16.50. Information: starliteplayers.com.

-- Marty Clear

This story was originally published April 20, 2016 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Sarasota's Starlite Players present an evening of original short plays ."