PLAYTASTINGS
Something to Chew On
A Live Stage Reading Series at
Local, Independent Restaurants
The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble celebrates the arts in all its forms — from the literary to the culinary. It’s why we launched the PlayTastings, a series of live readings of scripts at independent restaurants throughout Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, in 2024.
For each PlayTastings event, we partner with a different local restaurant to host a catered stage reading. It is a simultaneous showcase of both of our crafts. Our resident artists select, rehearse, and present an on-book performance of a play while our partner curates, prepares, and serves their culinary specialties.
If you want to support local artists, make new friends, or have an unforgettable night out, then you can’t miss a PlayTastings.
The Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble celebrates the arts in all its forms — from the literary to the culinary. It’s why we launched the PlayTastings, a series of live readings of scripts at independent restaurants throughout Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, in 2024.
For each PlayTastings event, we partner with a different local restaurant to host a catered stage reading. It is a simultaneous showcase of both of our crafts. Our resident artists select, rehearse, and present an on-book performance of a play while our partner curates, prepares, and serves their culinary specialties.
If you want to support local artists, make new friends, or have an unforgettable night out, then you can’t miss a PlayTastings.
Thank you to previous PlayTastings partners:
Brewskis Coffee & Bar, Le Malbec, the Blind Pig, the Pine Bar Inn, the Brasserie Louis, and Project Pizza.
Season 48 PlayTastings
-
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune
February 13, 2026
8:30 pm
Join us at Project Pizza & Deli Company
$20 Admission gets you all the pizza you want and a beer or glass of wine all while you enjoy the reading.
Romance has not been kind to the middle-aged Johnny and Frankie, but their one-night stand could change that…or at least, that’s what Johnny ardently believes. Frankie’s not so sure.
Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune by Terrence McNally is a sexy, witty exploration of disillusionment and hope in middle age. Happy Valentine’s Day!
-
The Birds
Friday, October 24, 2025
Experience fine dining paired with a live reading of a play.
The sound of wings heralded the end of human civilization. Coordinated attacks from birds have driven two strangers into a farmhouse on the fringes of what once was New England. Then, a third survivor arrives.
The horror of Daphne Du Maurier’s The Birds has left a lasting impact not only on literature but on film as well, thanks to Alfred Hitchcock. Now, Irish playwright Conor McPherson has adapted the story for the stage.
Celebrate your Halloween by enjoying delicious unlimited desserts at Brewski’s Coffee & Bar as our Resident Artists perform a live reading of a “deliciously chilling” (The Irish Independent) tale of paranoia on Friday, October 24th. We hope you come. Good company can be so hard to find.
Admission is $55, which includes unlimited desserts, coffee, and a drink.
Previous PlayTastings
-
Cry it Out by Molly Smith Metzler
Directed by Nora Gair
Held on May 30, 2025 at La Malbec Restaurant in Bloomsburg.The Birds by Conor McPherson, from a story by Daphne du Maurier
Held on October 24, 2025 at Brewskis Coffee & Bar.
-
How Now, Ophelia by Kimie Muroya
Directed by Amy Rene Byrne
Held on October 4, 2024 at the Bloomsburg Park.Wasabia by Wendy Herlich
Directed by Aaron White
Held on October 13, 2024 at The Brasserie Louis in Lewisburg.Radiant Vermin by Philip Ridley
Directed by Sarah Elizabeth Yorke
Held on October 18, 2024 at the Blind Pig in Bloomsburg.Dracula: A Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really by Kate Hamill
Directed by Jared Whitford
Held on October 25 at the Pine Barn Inn in Danville.