Dynamic duo of directing
are keeping the faith

By Diane Prokop
Times Staff Writer

Burholme residents T. (Tom) Patrick Ryan and Scott Grumling are looking forward to directing their first production for the Langhorne Players, a theater group whose home is located on the edge of Tyler State Park in Newtown.
Their production of The Busy World is Hushed, by Keith Bunin, premieres May 30 and continues through June 14. The play explores themes of faith and relationships on many levels while looking at the lives of three characters: Hannah, a widowed Episcopal minister and biblical scholar; her wayward son, Thomas; and Brandt, a writer Hannah hires to help her with her work on newly discovered gospel writings that could predate the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
According to Chris Melohn, who plays the young writer, the most sensitive topic is faith.
"It’s so personal to every person, with such a range of belief and faith — from extreme to searching to lost," Melohn said.
Playwright Bunin’s production had a well-received off-Broadway run in New York City two years ago, with actress Jill Clayburgh in the role of Hannah.
Hannah’s son tends to disappear for months at a time, but she sees the opportunity to keep him home by encouraging an intimate relationship that is developing between him and the struggling writer she has hired for her project. In addition to their attraction to each other, Thomas and Brandt have something else in common — the death of a father. Thomas’ father drowned in the sea before he was born. Brandt is dealing with the impending death of his own father — the first man he ever loved.
The play’s themes are edgy but not really a surprise to the Langhorne Players’ audiences. The company’s 2008 season brochure touts its "long history of exploring the human condition through some of the most daring and talked-about material offered by the freshest voices in modern playwriting."
Melohn, for one, is intrigued about the reactions of people who’ll attend the performances.
"It will be so fascinating to see what people think, what they’re talking about when they leave the theater," Melohn said.
Grumling worked with both Melohn and Ann Gundersheimer, who plays Hannah, when he portrayed Satan in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, a production staged last fall by the Friend and Foe Theatre Group in Center City. Christopher Erickson plays Hannah’s son Thomas.
This won’t be the first time that Grumling and Ryan have worked together. They’ve co-directed several plays, including Wit, The Vagina Monologues, Labor Day, Graceland and Independence. They’ve also directed each other.
Ryan has directed 19 plays, including three award-winning productions, and lists more than a dozen acting roles on his resume.
Grumling’s resume has comparable achievements — three award-winning acting roles among his 21 parts, complemented by 15 directing gigs.
"We have an interesting relationship directing," Ryan said. "Scott is very analytical and can see the overall look of the show — how it all connects. I am more the actors’ director. While some directors work with assistant directors, ours is a team effort and very much a co-director relationship."
Friends for more than 14 years, the directors are new to Northeast Philadelphia, having moved to Burholme from New England last June. The pair love their older neighborhood, the home’s huge back yard and their mix of neighbors, including one couple from Sicily who moved in 63 years ago and a retired Marine.
Grumling and Ryan also enjoy the city’s easy access to New York City, where they frequently go to check out new plays.
Despite one distasteful thing that all Philadelphians know about — the city wage tax — Grumling says that Philly has "more than enough pluses."
Pursuing theatrical careers may well prove to be one of them. ••
Reporter Diane Prokop can be reached at 215-354-3036 or dprokop@phillynews.com

If you go . . .

The Langhorne Players theater, the Mill, is on the property of Tyler State Park, three-quarters of a mile down Newtown-Richboro Road, just west of Shir Ami Synagogue and the Newtown Middle School.
Performances of The Busy World is Hushed are at 8:30 p.m. on May 30 and 31, June 6, 7, 13 and 14, and at 7:30 p.m. on June 1, 5, 8, 11 and 12. A special Talk Back with the cast and directors will follow the Wednesday, June 11, performance.
Tickets are $14 on Fridays and Saturdays, and $12 for all other performances (cash and checks only). Call 215-860-0818 for reservations. For more information and directions, visit www.langhorneplayers.org