Play explores the tabloid side of theater

What do you get when a young, normal woman; her chatty, emotionally scarred friend; a suspected killer who is a very sweet young man; a sexy, sexist pig; an overly happy flasher and the landlady who is oblivious to it all get together to live in a summer cottage on the beach?\nA new NBC sitcom? Nope. This is the premise for Christopher Durang's play, "Betty's Summer Vacation," set to open up the IU Theatre and Drama Center's season tonight.\nThe original production in 1999 at the Playwrights Horizons in New York city won four Obie Awards, the Village Voice's Off Broadway awards, for playwriting, directing, set design and acting.\nIn the author's notes on the play, Christopher Durang said he wrote the play "as a reaction to the glut of high-profile, gruesome and wildly personal court cases that seemed to capture the nation's consciousness on television."\nDurang, one of America's best known comedic playwrights, often uses a traditional form and satirizes it to make his point. In this case, Durang targets tabloid culture and sensationalist news stories. \n"('Betty's Vacation' is) a really good comedy, satirical as it is, that really hits something valid as our trashy culture," Director Howard Jensen said. "(We) have moved from the 50's 'let's not talk about it' rule to the 90's exposure of personal feelings on national television. (The play) has a very serious subject until you consider that the subject of sex, murder and mayhem is mainly what the American public wants to hear."\nSatirizing violence and many other anti-social behaviors in a play can cause troubling results if not handled properly.\n"There is a balance that has to be struck between making the play real so it is disturbing and … with finding the humor at these absurd situations," said Allison Batty, a second-year Master of Fine Arts acting student who plays the title role. "Some people will be offended no matter what we do because of the material ... in a way, as odd as it sounds, that is how we will know we were successful."\nDurang's play starts out the IU Department of Theatre and Drama's season with a bold choice of a new play and a mix of classic and new works to follow. Whether one considers reality TV entertainment or not, the play raises interesting questions as to the nature of society's entertainment fixation.\n"The audience will see how truly funny but also how truly horrible our obsession is with entertainment," Jensen said.\n"Betty's Summer Vacation" starts at 8 p.m. tonight through Oct. 18 except Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students and seniors Monday through Thursday. Student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before each performance for students with a valid IU ID for $10 cash. For more ticket information call 855-1103 or you can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster at 333-9955 or www.ticketmaster.com.