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<p>SCRANTON &#8212; &#8220;You don&#8217;t need to go to Broadway and spend hundreds of dollars on a ticket to find a quality production,&#8221; said local actress Kate Priestash.</p><p>From June 24-26, Wilkes-Barre native Priestash is one of four actors performing in &#8220;Fool for Love,&#8221; a Sam Shepard play that recently finished a run on Broadway, at the Providence Playhouse in Scranton.</p><p>&#8220;Fool for Love&#8221; was written in the early 1980s and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1984. The story centers on former lovers who meet again in a seedy motel in the Mojave Desert.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s considered a modern masterpiece,&#8221; Priestash said. &#8220;It&#8217;s the exploration of a soulmate connection that&#8217;s somewhat destructive. The characters have a dark past with each other which is revealed slowly throughout the show.&#8221;</p><p>Priestash appears in the show as May, one of two stars. Scranton natives Casey Thomas, Warren Cox and Arman James portray: Eddie, The Old Man and Martin respectively.</p><p>Director and Scranton native, Lou Bisignani, reached out to Priestash and Thomas after they performed in a one act show together to see if they were interested in doing &#8220;Fool for Love.&#8221; Bisignani is using the show to relaunch his production company, 411 Studios in hopes of bringing more lesser-known plays to the area.</p><p>Priestash said the show will appeal to local audiences.</p><p>&#8220;It really is a universal story. Everyone has that relationship that is not so good for them that they can&#8217;t quite let go,&#8221; she said. &#8220;Every time I have seen a show performed here that is unorthodox, the audiences are super excited and enthusiastic. I met several people who never went to see a play before and who are now regulars. Dramas or comedies that don&#8217;t shelter people [and] take chances really appeals to the modern theater going crowd.&#8221;</p><p>She said performing in an unfamiliar, controversial show, she and her fellow actors can highlight the wealth of talent in Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p><ins>While Thomas, Cox and Priestash have acting experience, James is a newcomer. &#8220;We&#8217;re excited to introduce him to the area,&#8221; Priestash said. &#8220;The character he is playing is someone who&#8217;s very new to the landscape in the play so it works well. We&#8217;re having a lot of fun collaborating with him.&#8221;</ins></p><p>With only four actors and a director, the play is a collaborative effort.</p><p>&#8220;We all have a big hand in how the production will turn out in terms of, not just the character development, but the staging, the lighting, the marketing,&#8221; Priestash said. &#8220;We&#8217;re all doing this as a team and it&#8217;s been very cohesive so far.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Casey Thomas and Kate Priestash perform a scene from &#8216;Fool in Love&#8217; which runs June 24 - 26 at the Providence Playhouse in Scranton. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_PART_1465516445036_IMG_20160609_194347.jpg</photo0><caption0>Casey Thomas and Kate Priestash perform a scene from &#8216;Fool in Love&#8217; which runs June 24 - 26 at the Providence Playhouse in Scranton. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Four-person play has wide appeal for audiences</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dorothy Sasso</p><p>On the Books</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Dorothy Sasso is a former Soap Opera Digest writer and a private school teacher. She is busy reading books and raising her two daughters.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

On the Books: ‘Fool in Love’ appeals to wide ranging audience