#love that the theatre specified that there is no puppetry in the production

[jamesrodayrodriguezpresents]

A theater company born out of the pandemic will soon start rehearsals for its first mainstage production of 2023. On May 25, The Legacy Theatre will debut the world premiere of “Masters of Puppets,” a riveting drama by Laurence Davis that explores the dirty underbelly of professional wrestling.

A brief history

The aptly-named Legacy Theatre was one of the few companies producing shows following the first full year of the COVID-19 lockdown, according to Managing Director Jeff Provost. Before they set up shop in the former Stony Creek Playhouse — a historic haunt of Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre Players — Legacy staged productions at the nearby Stony Creek Museum and outdoors on the Guilford and Branford greens.

Co-Founders Keely Baisden Knudsen and Stephanie Stiefel Williams spearheaded the company’s renovation of the playhouse while preserving its “fabled history,” Provost said. And while audiences were slow to return amid pandemic-era restrictions, the theater’s production mix proved successful.

“Keely has made a commitment since Day One to do at least one new play as part of our mainstage series,” Provost said. “It really tells you how daring and willing we are as a theater company to explore new ideas and works onstage.”

‘Masters of Puppets’

Davis’ work follows a husband and wife (played by Kurt Fuller of CBS’s “Evil” and Amanda Detmer of Fox’s “Empire”) who are “the masters” of a large-scale wrestling organization, Provost said. The couple engage in a power struggle with an executive from the professional sports network (played by Dana Ashbrook of Showtime’s “Twin Peaks”) over who’s pulling the proverbial strings.

“There’s always been questions as to what’s real and what’s fake in the world of wrestling, and those questions continue to this day,” Provost said. “This piece explores the topic in a really thought-provoking way. It’s a gritty, no-holds-barred approach to the subject matter.”

“Masters of Puppets” comes to the Legacy stage via James Roday Rodriguez (of ABC’s “A Million Little Things”), who will assist Legacy behind the scenes as a producer. Rodriguez and Knudsen grew up together; they performed alongside each other in middle school and eventually studied together as undergraduate students at New York University. Director Gabe McKinley was at NYU with them as well.

Provost explained that Rodriguez initially intended to produce the show with a theater company out in Los Angeles, but then COVID hit. Rodriguez connected with Knudsen about debuting “Puppets” at Legacy, and the rest, they say, is history.

“All of these connections and relationships that James has in the industry will play out really beautifully in this production,” Provost added. “The actors know each other very well and already have that base established.”

The world premiere of “Masters of Puppets” debuts at The Legacy Theatre on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m. Performances run through June 11, with shows on Thursdays at 7 p.m., Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Tickets are on sale now; season subscribers receive a 25 percent discount. For more information, visit www.LegacyTheatreCT.org.

[Anyone who wants to go please heed the content warning on their website: For mature audiences. Contains violence, harsh language, and drug use. There is no puppetry in the production.]