Playwright Mike Broemmel and The Baptism

DENVER - Feb. 21, 2015 - PRLog -- The Baptism, a drama in three acts that takes on intolerance – particularly religious intolerance – through a well-crafted, dynamic script, makes its world premiere on October 17, 2014, in Denver, Colorado. The Baptism is produced by Theatrix USA in association with AmSwo productions.

The Baptism tells the tale of the residents of Worthington, seemingly typical small town folks — the farming family, the widow and her circle of friends, a young woman with a new baby. Despite the seeming normality, something sinister brews beneath the surface of daily life in the tiny village. The play has something of a Twilight Zone feel.

The town gathers on a stormy night for the baptism of May Proctor’s baby son. The audience become congregants and participate in an event they will not soon forget.

The plot of The Baptism renders its staging in an actual church the perfect setting for the truly unique, haunting and memorable production. The Baptism is a drama in three acts which makes it world premiere in the historic chapel on the grounds of Colorado Heights University (formerly Loretto Heights College).

“The Baptism grew out of a short story that I was commissioned to write for a magazine in 2005,” Broemmel explained. “The story ended up not being published by the magazine because the publisher deemed it too controversial. In 2011, I revisited the story and it finally was published – controversy and all. I decided at that time to turn that little tale into a play.”

Broemmel went on to note that, although the play generally follows the plot of The Baptism, it does end a bit differently and the stage version has more characters. “This is a play with a cast of 14, which is large. As I recall, the short story has about half that number of characters,” Broemmel said. “But, I really find each character featured in the play to be integral to the plot.”

“When I’m asked to sum up the theme to The Baptism, I refer a person to a quote from Simon Wiesenthal that I’ve included at the beginning of the script: ‘For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing. (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/simonwiese4050...)’ In The Baptism, the residents of what otherwise seems to be a typical small town are drawn into something truly evil, truly horrific. One of the goals of the play is to make audience members feel as if they are a part of the workings of the people of this town as well,” Broemmel said.

Broemmel went on to add that although on the surface what happens during the course of The Baptism may seem unimaginable, it is not. “The fact is, we actually see violence play out in the name of religion each and every day. And, it includes violence against children,” Broemmel said. “I don’t want to give anything away about the play, but what was seen as controversial and perhaps even unbelievable 10 years ago actually is occurring on the world stage today.”

The Baptism is the second play Broemmel has seen produced in the past couple of years. The Row was the first script that hit the stage initially in 2012. “The Row tells the tale of the last day in the life of a man on death row in the late 1950s,” Broemmel said. “In The Row, the main character confronts people from his life. The audience is left to speculate whether the people that he encounters are products of his imagination or truly ghosts from his past.” The Row is scheduled to run in several cities in the United States during 2015.

“The Baptism really comes to life in this Denver production,” Broemmel noted. “Ammon Swofford is making his own directorial debut with this play and is doing an amazing job. He has a real eye for staging a play. And, the cast of this production is incomparable. Amazing talent. I have to say when I watch them rehearse, I am left thinking that somehow I wrote each character to be performed by the very individuals that have been cast in this production.”

The Baptism, although a drama and not a musical, will have an original score. “Scoring the play with original music was the idea of an amazing composer, Ambrose Freeman-Toole. I’ve had the chance to hear the score for the entire show and it is amazing. Amazing. What is even more fantastic is that this score will now be wed to the script forever. The work of Ambrose has enhanced the value of the script beyond comprehension,” Broemmel said.

Broemmel is involved in three productions in development that are slated to be staged in 2015: Goddess People (a drama), Six Joan Crawfords (a comedy) and Miss Trent (a comedy-drama with an old-fashioned Vaudeville show in the middle).

“Since I was quite young, I’ve been a big admirer of Arthur Miller. His plays really inspired me to take up playwriting in the first instance. The Crucible and Death of a Salesman are amazing pieces of work,” Broemmel said. “When it comes to fictional work, I really cut my teeth by writing short fiction and novels.”

Although Broemmel primarily identifies himself as a writer, he recently directed a revival of Jeffrey earlier in 2014. “I actually was the third string director for that production, the third choice,” Broemmel said, with a wry smile. “But, it was a great experience because the cast was so talented and enjoyable to work with.” Jeffrey is a critically acclaimed play written by Paul Rudnick.

“Rudnick is an amazing writer. He has a beat, a timing, to his work that is incomparable,” Broemmel said. “Jeffery, although a serious story about love at the height of the AIDS pandemic, is also filled with some of the funniest lines I’ve ever seen. Rudnick also wrote the remake of Stepford Wives, which starred Glenn Close and was an amazing screenplay.”

Broemmel also was the executive producer of Steel Magnolias in 2013. “Not all professional experiences are … enjoyable,” Broemmel remarked. “But, the audience enjoyed the production and, in the final analysis, that is the goal.”

Several dozen pieces of short fiction written by Broemmel currently are available in digital form from Amazon. In addition, his most recent collection of short fiction, Lauderdale Tales, is also available in digital form at Amazon. His prior collections of short fiction, The Miller Moth and The Shadow Cast, received critical acclaim and were compared to the works of “John Steinbeck at his most nitty-gritty.” A fourth collection of short fiction by Broemmel, yet to be named, is expected to be released during the holiday season in 2014.

Performance information for The Baptism:

Skylite Station

910 ARTS Center

910 Santa Fe Drive

Denver, CO 80204

in the Arts District on Santa Fe

February 26, 2015 - 7:30

February 27, 2015 - 7:30

March 1 - 2:30 & 7:30

Adult Tickets – $15

Student Tickets – $10

Senior Tickets – $10

Children – $10

Online Tickets: http://theatrix-usa.ticketleap.com/the-baptism-denver/ (http://theatrix-usa.ticketleap.com/the-baptism/)

Information: info@theatrixusa.org

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheatrixUSA

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MBroemmel