Late Show Invades Oswego

OSWEGO – Only two chances remain to see Oswego Player’s 4th Annual Don McCann Playwriting Showcase. This iteration of the event marks a significant change in the contest as submissions were opened statewide. A record number of one-act plays were reviewed, and ultimately selected as the winner was “A Matter of Measurements” by Michael Brumm, who currently works as a senior producer/writer for CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

“It’s an exciting time for the Oswego Players,” says President Tammy Thompson, “as we have the honor of presenting the world premiere of a hysterical play penned by a professional network TV writer. We’ve been laughing our heads off every rehearsal, it’s been beyond fun. And, last night, the audience left smiling, some wheezing.”

The play chronicles Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s trip to the Louvre Museum to discuss an embarrassingly personal matter. It skewers the frailty of masculinity of these literary giants, hitting a tone of humor that one audience member called “both highbrow and low… below the belt, if you will.”

Michael Brumm is currently a senior producer/writer for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He was also a consulting producer on “At Home with Amy Sedaris.” Before that, he was a four-time Emmy Award-winning writer for “The Colbert Report.” In addition to television, Brumm is the author of the children’s graphic novel series “The Cryptid Club” for HarperCollins Publishing.

Director Stephanie Johnson has found directing this original work to be “such a rewarding experience. Michael Brumm’s wit and flavorful imagination easily allows audience access to laughter. What a joy to paint a living picture of his words. This play is a fun imagined insight into some fantastic minds of history that explores friendship and our shared human insecurities – as well as our successes, in a light, fun and somewhat relatable way.”

Brumm, who last visited Oswego for the sold-out Chef’s Kiss at Canale’s, expressed his amazement at the level of talent available locally. In his own words, “I am so honored to have the Oswego Players put on ‘A Matter of Measurements.’ I’m sure if Hemingway and the Fitzgeralds were around, they would be proud too.”

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