The Stage Company is excited to present the world premiere of Robb Willoughby’s “Roofman” next month, a comedy about a man seeking solutions to a common problem from an unusual perspective: his rooftop.
“Everything takes place on the roof of his house. So it’s something really different for me, and different for everybody, I think,” said director Greg Smith.
He and award-winning playwright Robb Willoughby met at the Dayton Theatre Guild in 2008 and have been friends ever since. Willoughby still lives in Ohio and regularly bounces his work of off Smith. Recently, he sent in “Roofman.”
“I read it, and I thought, ‘Oh my god, this is wonderful.’ And so I asked him if he would allow us to open our season with it,” Smith said.
Willoughby happily agreed. He has written almost 20 full-length plays and numerous one-acts, but this is the first time he and Smith are collaborating for a premiere.
“I think this is the first full-length world premiere that he’s stepped up to do, and I’m so glad to work with him,” Willoughby said.
“Roofman” centers on Charlie, a middle-aged blue collar worker who has just been laid off from his job. He sits on the roof to gather his thoughts and decides he is not coming down until he figures his life out. His wife, in-laws and the local police may be exasperated, but the TV news station is thrilled.
“The jumping off point, it was a funny video that I had seen, and it sounds so simple and silly but [it was] a video of a dude falling off the roof. And I thought to myself, well, what was he doing up there on the roof to begin with? Then the story kind of formed around that,” Willoughby explained.
He did not set out to write a social commentary, he went on, but the story naturally developed into a conversation about the displacement of blue collar workers, the American Dream and sensational media.
“I think Charlie is not unlike a lot of Americans his age, my age, where you spend your entire life working in one place, and the people before you got so much more than what you get for it now,” he said.
“Now, that sounds much more serious, but it’s a total comedy,” he assured. He added, “...I don’t think the American Dream is dead. It’s just evolved and you’ve got to evolve with it.”
Smith reported rehearsals are underway. Another unique feature of the show is two generations of the Taylor family, longtime members of The Stage Company, will also play family onstage.
“Josh and Hillary (Taylor) are playing Charlie and Francis, husband and wife. Connie and Darrell (Taylor), even though they’re actually Josh’s parents, they’re playing Hillary’s parents,” Smith said.
The cast is rounded out by Ken Warren as Charlie’s best friend, Officer Martin Seagull, and Felicia Hart as news anchor Kelsea Kooper.
Willoughby intends to travel to Poplar Bluff to attend the show, which kicks off the 2022-2023 theater season. He looks forward to seeing what Smith does with the script.
“He always gives a good show, so I couldn’t be more thrilled that he’s doing this, actually,” he said.
“Roofman” shows Aug. 19-28 at The Method Playhouse in First United Methodist Church, 500 N. Main St. Show times will be announced at a later date. More information will be available at The Stage Company page on Facebook and at pbstageco.com.
This article has been updated to correct two names: Darrell Taylor and Ken Warren were previously listed as Dale Taylor and Jim Warren. The Daily American Republic apologizes for any confusion this may have caused.