The inspiration for writer Kurt McGinnis Brown’s play, “Broken and Entered,” came from an image. What if, after the house lights go down in the theater, all the audience can see are two flashlights?
It’s a compelling start, one that caught the eyes of the judges for Wisconsin Wrights, the annual new play development project at the UW-Madison. Wisconsin Wrights focuses on writers creating plays in Wisconsin, though not necessarily about the state.
Brown’s play is one of three that will receive a staged reading in the Hemsley Theatre this week.
“Broken and Entered” tells the story of two brothers, Vern and Wally, who inherit their mother’s house. Vern decides to wipe the slate clean by removing all of their family possessions and replacing them with other items stolen from neighborhood homes.