Cheap Seats Peep gives love stories a much needed shot of phobia and kink

Welcome to Cheap Seats, where every Thursday we’ll talk to folks behind the scenes of the stage events opening around town in order to give you a flavor of the productions that won’t be found in any of the promo materials.

Peep, MercLab, May 20-June 4

Promo pull quote: “Billy likes to watch. He just can’t touch. Summer doesn’t mind one bit. The kids are another story. Will the family survive the secrets? Phobia and kink are exposed in this quirky original comedy.”

What it’s really about: Without giving away too much of the play’s 25-year-long—and peculiar—central story, Mercury Players’ Peep is, at its heart, a tragedy mixed with an unconventional love story. “It doesn’t follow the norm. When people fall in love [in other plays], it’s like a man and a woman, they meet, they fall in love, and it follows a linear path,” says director Sadie Yi. “In this play, curveballs are thrown at these people, and they have to make do with what they can. They find out they love each other, but they can’t show that in normal ways. In order to stay together they have to get… creative.”

Fun fact: Local playwright and frequent Mercury Players collaborator/director Douglas Holtz wrote Peep and was able to give notes during production, which is not necessarily the norm for staging plays in Madison. “Doug really writes from his heart, and from his life experiences, so you know every play he writes has a little bit about him in it. So it’s been fun trying to figure out which parts apply to him and his life,” Yi says. “When we had our first read through, he was like, ‘If you want to change anything, go ahead,’ but I didn’t change anything. It’s very real, and it’s very natural. It’s how Doug thinks.”

Why you should try it: Most importantly, because it’s the last play on Mercury Players’ docket this season. Also, because—despite cryptic plot descriptions—the play’s central message about learning to trust yourself and your loved ones is sentimental without being mushy. “The [central] relationship has a promise that they have to be honest with each other,” Yi says. “But Billy keeps a secret to himself, and it exposes what happens when you don’t trust yourself from the beginning.”