In ‘pay no worship,’ a Cape Verdean volcano makes its way to the Drake stage

Tucked into a tiny street in Center City Philadelphia, the Proscenium Theatre at the Drake is no main-stage extravaganza. The fly space above the stage is not a lot and there are no mechanical bells and whistles that make set designers happy.

Nevertheless, scenic designer Colin McIlvaine, lighting designer Lily Fossner, and director Tyrone L. Robinson have managed to create the illusion of a volcano on the Drake’s 36-foot stage for InterAct Theatre Company’s world premiere production of pay no worship by Francisca Da Silveira.

“There are some incredible technical elements in this show,” said Robinson, explaining that he welcomed the challenge of producing a volcano and a hurricane on stage.

But that’s not what initially drew him to pay no worship. Da Silveira’s play centers on two cousins in their 20s with different views on whether to leave for America or remain on Fogo, a tiny African island in Cape Verde — an archipelago with two volcanoes. “When I read the script, the first thing that excited me was this relationship between two young men of color talking about their hopes and dreams,” Robinson said. “In the canon of American plays, we don’t have a lot of plays that allow us to sit with two men of color talking about what they want in life.”

Robinson, who grew up in a raucous family of cousins who loved each other, trash-talked each other, and found every reason to tussle, said he related deeply to the feelings the two cousins have for each other.

The older cousin, played by Saiir Foy-Coles, dreams of a college-educated life in the United States. The younger, more playful cousin, played by Troy D. Wallace, wants to remain on Fogo and continue growing grapes for the family’s wine business.

Robinson directed Bitter Earth at InterAct last year and plays custodian Jerry Watkins on New Amsterdam, NBC’s medical drama.

Da Silveira’s play draws its title from Juliet’s soliloquy in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Juliet says that if Romeo were to die and if his body were to turn into stars, the night would become so beautiful that people would “pay no worship to the garish sun.”

As usual for InterAct, there are plenty of opportunities for the audience to interact with cast, crew, playwright, director, and outside experts. Da Silveira, whose family comes from Cape Verde, will speak after the April 8 matinee. Expect Miranda Alexander, founding president of the Caribbean Community in Philadelphia, after the April 9 matinee and Loÿc Vanderkluysen, a volcanologist at the Department of Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science at Drexel University, after April 16′s matinee.

(March 31-April 23, “pay no worship,” InterAct Theatre Co., Proscenium at the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Phila., 215-568-8079 or interacttheatre.org)

In New York, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Tony Award-winning Into the Woods packed theaters. Now the same play with many members of the Broadway cast is coming to Kimmel Cultural Campus’ Miller Theater. Broadway artist Montego Glover reprises her role as the Witch; Stephanie J. Block remains as the Baker’s Wife; Sebastian Arcelus is still the Baker, and Gavin Creel continues his split personality offering of Cinderella’s Prince and the Wolf.

(April 4-9, “Into the Woods,” Miller Theater, 250 S. Broad St., Phila. 215-893-1999 or kimmelculturalcampus.org)

You can’t take SEPTA to a tropical island, but you can visit the Walnut Street Theatre for Jimmy Buffett’s Escape to Margaritaville, complete with a 22-member cast, a live orchestra, and a full roster of Buffet favorites including “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Volcano,” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.”

Matteo Scammell plays Tully, a smooth-talking bartender who’s big on charm and quite content with his life until he falls in love with a beautiful tourist. Flip flops optional.

(March 28-April 30, “Escape to Margaritaville,” Walnut Street Theatre, 825 Walnut St., Phila., 215-574-3550 or walnutstreettheatre.org)

Last call for Philly Theatre Week with pay-what-you-can pricing for dozens of performances at many locations through April 2. To get that price, you must buy your tickets through the Theatre Philadelphia Theatre Week website and the number of tickets priced as pay-what-you-can are limited. Once the Theatre Week tickets are sold out, regular pricing applies.

InterAct is offering some Theatre Week tickets for pay no worship. Crossroads Comedy Theater promises a full lineup of laughs through the weekend. Also on tap, Linnea Bond in The World, The Seagull by the Drama Group of Germantown, Rachel O’Hanlon-Rodriguez’s She Was A Conquistawhore, A Séance for Mae West by the Aporia Artists Collective, Putin’s-A-Fool-Day on April 1 by Neé Danse/Theatre, and A Golden Girls Mystery: A Philly Story by Without-A-Cue Productions, among many others.

Check with individual venues for COVID-19 protocols.

An earlier version of the article misidentified the actors and the roles they’re playing.