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Out Of the Black Box Theatre Company is bringing an adaptation of Joseph Heller's adaption of his classic novel to the stage starting Friday at Greenbelt Arts Center. Director Bill Jones said audience members might be surprised to know that in addition to making them think, this is a play that will make them laugh.
"It's quite funny," Jones said. "But it's not just funny. It uses humor to make a good, strong point. This is a comedy about what happens to people during war."
"Catch-22" is the story of a World War II Air Force squadron from the point of view of Capt. Yossarian and his squadron-mates. Its characters and plot critique military bureaucracy and point out the dehumanizing influence of war.
Jones said the black humor lies in the play's 40 characters, who can be seen as caricatures of the personalities Heller encountered in the military.
"I'm sure there was never anyone like Col. Cathcart precisely," Jones said. "He probably had three or four colonels, and combined their worst characteristics to make him a pastiche of different people in positions of power combined into one."
Jones said each of the 40 characters, presented by nine actors in this production, provides insight into "the different ways in which people are twisted by being in a war."
"The characters are so strongly drawn, you might have someone who appears only in one or two scenes, but you still get a real clear sense of their character," Jones said.
Betsy Marks Delaney, artistic director of the theater company, said the play follows the story of the book very closely, noting that Heller used it as a chance to present "his artistic vision in a different format."
Jones said the live action and the trimmed-down scenes make this format much easier to follow than the book.
"The book can be difficult to read because it jumps around so much," Jones said. "The play is much more coherent, which makes it much easier to see what he's getting at. In that way, the play is much better at bringing out the key points of the story than the book."
Still, Jones said the play's strong characters and complex themes will have audience members coming back for seconds.
"There are parts that really make you think, and there are characters people will want to see more of," Jones said. "This is a play that people will leave saying, ‘I want to see that again.'"
IF YOU GO
Catch-22
When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through June 20; 2 p.m. June 14
Where: Greenbelt Arts Center, 123 Centerway Road, Greenbelt
Tickets: $15, $12 for seniors and students
Box office: 301-441-8770; www.OutOftheBlackBox.org
