![\"Douglas](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765107369_852_DOUGLAS-CARTER-BEANE.-photo-courtesy-of-Douglas-Carter-Beane-1.jpg\")
Douglas Carter Beane (Courtesy of Douglas Carter Beane)<\/p>\nDouglas Carter Beane kicks off his run as artistic director of Genesius Theatre with a new work he has written and is directing, a heartwarming play about art and Pennsylvania titled, \u201cThe Behavior of Light.\u201d<\/p>\n
Douglas Carter Beane (Courtesy of Douglas Carter Beane)<\/p>\n
Performances will take place Friday, Saturday and next Sunday; Dec. 18, 19, 20, 26 and 27. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of next Sunday, when the show starts at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
Genesius Theatre is located at 135 N 10th Street, Reading.\u00a0Free parking is available in a lot adjacent to the building. An overflow lot is also available; ask the parking attendant for a pass.<\/p>\n
For tickets and additional information, visit www.genesiusdifference.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n This show \u2014 packed with local cultural references and imbibed in a cozy nostalgia \u2014 is both perfect for Berks County audiences and fitting for the occasion: it\u2019s with this production that the Tony-nominated writer is returning to his childhood playhouse. It was on the Genesius stage that a young Beane first discovered his lifelong passion for theatre in the 1970s.<\/p>\n Beane describes \u201cThe Behavior of Light\u201d as a \u201cbattle cry for art\u201d that reminds audiences that, \u201clearning to take the frustrations of life and turn them into a creative expression is one of the joys of life.\u201d More simply, he said, \u201cit reminds us of the power of kindness.\u201d<\/p>\n The story, set in West Reading in 1972, follows the staff and adult students of a night school\u2019s art class. The students are mostly mill workers trying to avoid imminent layoffs by earning their GEDs; their effervescent but inexperienced teacher, Caroline, is determined to convince them of the value of art, despite the skeptical beliefs of their cynical and overly analytical principal, Robert.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s an apparent background character who brings the most color to the canvas: Teddy, a shy young janitor with schizoid personality disorder, is inspired by the classes he observes from the shadows. Soon, two parallel stories unfold \u2014 grey reality and technicolor fantasy \u2014 as Teddy uses art to make sense of the world around him.<\/p>\n A cast of seven local performers, whom Beane describes as, \u201ctremendous and inspiring,\u201d play a cornucopia of characters, including the mother and aunt of Teddy, fellow janitorial staff, art patrons, and an art dealer, as well as the fantastical royal protagonists, evil villains, and delightfully silly sidekicks \u2014 including a frog prepared for dissection, a reanimated skeleton, and a dragon with the voice of Joan Rivers \u2014 of Teddy\u2019s art.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are trying to tell this as freely and simply as possible,\u201d Beane said. \u201cThere is no New York City production of this play yet. There is nothing for us to emulate. We only have our heart, our experiences and our instincts to guide us.\u201d<\/p>\n Joining Beane to bring this celebration of art, community and theater to life is fellow Pennsylvania-native, Tony-nominated Broadway professional Allen Moyer (set design). Moyer, who recently joined the board of directors at Genesius Theatre, is teaming up with longtime Genesius set builder, Brent Beckner, to transform the intimate 10th and Walnut streets stage in Reading\u00a0 into the perfect canvas.<\/p>\n The creative team also includes James Haggerty, assistant director; Bill Eschbach, stage manager; and Ellen Dash Walter, dramaturg.<\/p>\n The full cast:\u00a0James Haggerty as Teddy;\u00a0Sarah Althen-Haggerty as Caroline;\u00a0Jonathan Erkert as Robert Norton;\u00a0Becka-Anne Malanios as Helen;\u00a0Daphnee McMaster as Rowena;\u00a0Alvin Green-Lewis as T; and Abby Hannis as Gina.<\/p>\n Genesius Theatre is partnering with the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading. Make a reservation at Cheers American Bistro at the DoubleTree (two hours prior to show time is recommended) and inform your host that you will be using the shuttle service to Genesius Theatre. Then, enjoy free parking in their garage, dinner and a complementary shuttle to and from the theater.<\/p>\n Music<\/p>\n Dave Kline & the Mountain Folk Band have released \u201cBells,\u201d a new bluegrass Christmas single, following up on their album release, \u201cOur Grass.\u201d<\/p>\n Inspired by the folk art work of rural Pennsylvania artist Jon Bond, \u201cBells,\u201d a painting by Bond of a family farm dinner bell, has been transformed into a Christmas song in the bluegrass style by Kline and pays homage to the symbolism and tone of bells during the Christmas season and beyond.<\/p>\n The song, on the Smoking Bishop record label, is available on all digital download and streaming platforms. \u201cBells\u201d is part of an annual Christmas music collection of original songs called Holiday Fruitcake 6. A video is available on YouTube at https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mcJ37Jm_5XA<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Douglas Carter Beane kicks off his run as artistic director of Genesius Theatre with a new work he…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,1681,182,1213,28,128,130,129,289],"class_list":["post-54396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-berks-county","tag-entertainment","tag-local-news","tag-music-and-concerts","tag-pennsylvania","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"(Courtesy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765107369_674_BoL-Show-Cast-Press-Release-1.jpg\")
(Courtesy of Genesius Theatre)<\/p>\n