Out Barrymore Award-winning actor and playwright James Ijames is in the director’s chair for the Philadelphia premiere of “Michael and Edie,” through Feb. 22 at Villanova Theatre.
Written by Rachel Bonds, “Michael and Edie” is a coming-of-age story, set in a fantastic bookstore where the titular characters seek refuge among the stacks in an effort to flee the outside world.
“‘Michael and Edie’ is a story about young people growing up, and I think that is something everyone can relate to,” Ijames said. “Audiences have really felt connected to that part of the story. The play is actually set in a lot of locations: the bookstore, Edie’s apartment, Michael’s apartment, the street, a movie theater, so many places. In our production, we have chosen to aesthetically focus the world in the bookstore but the bookstore, becomes all of the locations we need in the world of the play.”
With its quirky sense of fantasy woven into the reality of the characters’ lives, the story has been described as “hipster,” which can be a positive or not-so-positive thing, depending on what that word means to you.
Ijames chooses to embrace the positive connotations of the label.
“When I think of ‘hipster’ I think of irony,” Ijames said. “This play is not ironic, it’s actually quite earnest. It is a story of youth and trying and failing, which I feel certainly speaks to the hipster sensibility, but it’s larger than that. It’s more complex and it really reaches all people.”
Ijames added that, of all the characters in the play, he instantly felt an affinity for Michael.
“Boy, have I been there,” he said. “Being in love with someone who won’t or can’t love you back, living in a crappy apartment and working crappy jobs to pursue my dreams. Being away from my family in some of our most difficult moments. I felt him very deeply as a character.”
It looks like his struggles have paid off, considering that, besides being an accomplished actor, director and playwright, he is also an assistant professor of theater at Villanova University.
“It’s been a really exciting transition for me from full-time theater professional to full-time professor,” he said. “The students are really talented and the faculty and staff have been incredibly supportive. It’s been a dream to work on.”
And the dream will continue for Ijames for the foreseeable future, as he plans to write and direct other theater projects in the area.
“In the fall, myself and five local playwrights launched a playwright-producing organization called Orbiter 3 that will have its first production, a play of mine, in June or July,” he said. “The play is called ‘Moon Man Walk’ and it’s a magical play about falling in love, loss, finding missing family, and literally takes us from Philadelphia to the moon and back. I’m really proud of Orbiter 3 and the producing model that we are experimenting with in the region.”
Villanova Theatre presents “Michael & Edie” through Feb. 22 at Vasey Hall, 800 Lancaster Ave. For more information or tickets, call 610-519-7474 or visit www.theatre.villanova.edu.