Crazy Is the New Sane

Every family has its version of the outcast: the crazy aunt, the crazy half-brother’s ex-wife’s cousin. But would it change things if you learned that your deranged family member also happened to be crazy-rich? Would you seek them out for a donation to your backpacking-Europe-for-personal-enlightenment fund?

Before you drive down that morally questionable road, head to Main Street Playhouse for Crazy Mary, a comedic drama that revolves around a woman isolated in a sanatorium and the sudden visit from family members when they discover they might inherit her fortune. The characters in the play, written by A. R. Gurney and directed by Matt J. May, personify the shifting world of East Coast WASPs who seek to simultaneously escape and preserve their privilege. Although Mary is the one institutionalized, by the end of the story, you might be frantically dialing your estranged twice-removed cousin and wondering whether the real crazies are the ones who still think they’re sane.

Mondays-Sundays, 8 p.m. Starts: July 30. Continues through Aug. 15, 2010