The Main Off-Broadway Play Reading Series brings to life classic plays that have recently entered the public domain. Each reading showcases a different work read aloud by talented local actors. All programs are free and open to the public, but registration is requested below.
Upcoming Readings:
The Black Doctor
by Ira Aldridge
Sunday, June 14, 1:30-4 PM, Portland Library
Ira Aldridge was the most celebrated African American actor of the 19th century, achieving fame in England and Europe with his extensive Shakespearean repertoire. In this melodrama set during the French Revolution, Fabian, the Doctor, falls in love with Pauline, the daughter of a French Governor. Can they find happiness despite the intense societal pressure to abandon their love?
Past Readings:
Rope
by Patrick Hamilton
April 6, 2025 • Main Library
Rope, written by Patrick Hamilton in 1929 and inspired by the murder trials of Leopold and Loeb in 1924, tells the tale of two young men who believe they have pulled off the perfect crime. Can they get away with it, or will their heinous scheme unravel? Hitchcock adapted this play for the screen in 1948 in his thriller of the same name. See Cast Bios
The Verge
by Susan Glaspell
May 25, 2025 • Main Library
The Verge, written in 1921, follows Claire Archer, a botanist, in her quest to create a new form of life. Claire struggles to find those who can understand her as she tries to break free of the limitations imposed upon her by society. See Cast Bios
Safe
by Georgia Douglas Johnson
June 22, 2025 • Main Library
Georgia Douglas Johnson, a well-known poet and playwright of the Harlem Renaissance, often centered her work on the Black experience in the South. In Safe, written in 1929, she tells the story of Liza and John Pettigrew, expectant parents in a small town in Georgia in 1893, who witness horrible racial violence. Afterward, Liza must decide what it means to be “safe”. See Cast Bios
The Royal Family
by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman
July 13, 2025 • Main Library
The Cavendishes, a family dynasty on Broadway, find themselves at a crossroads in this classic fast-paced comedy about family, love, and life outside the theatre. See Cast Bios
Icebound
by Owen Davis
August 24, 2025 • Main Library
In this 1923 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by Owen Davis, the Jordan family gathers at their matron’s deathbed to discover their inheritance has been left to a distant cousin, forcing buried truths to surface. See Cast Bios
Machinal
by Sophie Treadwell
September 14, 2025 • Main Library
A fascinating expressionist drama by American playwright Sophie Treadwell, Machinal was inspired by the real-life case of Ruth Ann Snyder and tells the story of a woman executed for murdering her husband. See Cast Bios
R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots)
by Karel Čapek
October 12, 2025 • Main Library
Decades before Asimov invented the three laws, Čapek introduced the world to the term “robot”. In this sci-fi world, robots are visually indistinguishable from humans and have become indispensable to the manufacturing industry, used only for labor. What happens when the robots question the system? See Cast Bios
Journey's End
by R. C. Sherriff
November 9, 2025 • St. Matthews Library
Set in 1918, in the trenches outside of St. Quentin, France, a company of British soldiers awaits an impending German offensive. R.C. Sherriff’s realistic and honest portrayal of war was a resounding critical success on European stages in 1929. See Cast Bios
Once in a Lifetime
by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
April 19, 2025 • St. Matthews Library
The first of many comedies by Kaufman and Hart, in which a trio of vaudevillians, down on their luck, race out to Hollywood hoping to strike it rich after the first “talkie” takes the world by storm. With a hope and a little help, they may just do it. See Cast Bios
Alison's House
by Susan Glaspell
May 24, 2026 • Portland Library
Inspired by the life and Legacy of reclusive poet Emily Dickinson, Glaspell’s 1930 Pulitzer winning play follows the Stanhope family as they reckon with the secret past of their world-famous poet Alison. See Cast Bios