On April 5, 2008, Westminster's new Gaslight Theatre Company will host a benefit performance for Mental Health America of Colorado.

That evening's performance of John Patrick's play The Curious Savage is dedicated to supporting the organization, which will receive half of the evening's proceeds.

Because Patrick's play is set in The Cloisters, a sanatorium, Gaslight chose a mental health organization as its beneficiary. Through characterization and conflict, John Patrick sheds light on mental health issues, as The Cloisters houses characters with a variety of mental health concerns, characters that tend to mask their deeper issues.

For instance, Fairy Mae, played by Jane Allard, was raised by "emotional albinos"-parents who did not give her the love she desperately craved as a child. Her coping skills for filling this void include telling fantastic stories about her childhood to gain attention as well as asking complete strangers to profess their love for her. Actress Val Durfee's Mrs. Paddy is a woman who "hates everything" and is silent other than an occasional listing of those things she hates. Twenty years ago, her husband "told her to shut up; so she did." Her refusal to speak manifests itself in a single, blue, undulating line on a bare, white canvas that she paints over and over each day.

The sanatorium also houses Jeff, played by Britt Lafield, a former military pilot. During World War II, Jeff's plane was shot down. While Jeff escaped, the rest of the platoon did not, and Jeff houses a deep guilt about his survival. His emotional scars mirror the physical scars he believes he possesses, causing Jeff to continually hide the right side of his face in hopes of sparing others.

Next, Hannibal, a statistical genius who was fired with the onset of the machine age, overeats to compensate for his loss. He is portrayed by Joshua Fisher. Finally, we meet Florence, acted by Karen Krause, a woman whose child was taken from her at birth. This boy, John Thomas, is symbolized by a doll Florence carries with her for five years.

One of the conflicts in the show centers on the definition of sanity or reason. The central character, widowed Mrs. Ethel Savage, is placed in The Cloisters by her step children, who believe she is spending her inheritance foolishly. Rather than making others happy with the money as Mrs. Savage wants to, her children believe they can put the money to "better use." The younger Savages hope that by having Ethel committed, they can gain control of the funds and spend it more reasonably. Thus, the audience must choose between these characters and decide for themselves who exhibits more "reasonable" or "sane" behavior.

For audience members who wish to see the play but cannot attend on April 5 th, donations to Mental Health America of Colorado may be placed in the donation box located in the theatre's lobby.

For more information on Mental Health America visit www.mhacolorado.org. Information on Gaslight Theatre Company is available on www.gaslighttheatrecompany.com or by calling 720-232-7285.