Be among the first audiences to view a never-before-performed play at the historic Phillips’ Mill in Bucks County, Pa. The Phillips’ Mill Community Association is presenting a Premiere Showcase production of The Half of It by Domenick Scudera, a Pennsylvania playwright. The play runs July 18-21 and is directed by Phillips’ Mill Theater Resident Griffin Horn. The Half of It is inspired by the life and work of Bert Savoy, a Vaudeville drag artist who was active in the 1910s and early 1920s and who, until now, has been largely forgotten. The Half of It runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 p.m., with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, July 21.

Tickets are $25 for members and $30 general admission. Opening night tickets are $40 for members and $45 general admission, and include a post-performance reception with wine and hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are on sale at the Phillips’ Mill website.

In the play, Savoy’s life story is retold by Savoy’s partner, Jay Brennan, years after Savoy’s death. Brennan pulls back the curtain on the dazzling life they lived together — traveling the Vaudeville circuit, advising would-be celebrities backstage, playing the press against itself, dodging their exes, discovering new ambitions as performers, and falling in love along the way.

“The play highlights the groundbreaking and inspirational work of this artist while shining a light on the origins of contemporary drag performance and the LGBTQ+ community in the early part of the 20th century,” says Scudera, a theater professor at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., and long active in the area theater scene. The play explores themes of gender identity, gender expression, sexuality, and celebrity in the modern era.

The Half of It continues the Mill’s commitment to new work, particularly in the wake of the pandemic when many theaters — especially theaters devoted to new work — closed. The idea of Premiere Showcase is to feature an original, fully developed play produced on the Mill stage by an up-and-coming playwright, selected by the Drama Committee.

It was the Phillips’ Mill’s Emerging Playwright Competition (EPC), which accepts the first 50 submissions from playwrights within 100 miles of Phillips’ Mill, that brought Scudera’s portfolio of work to the attention of the committee. EPC submissions are open until August 18 for the seventh annual competition. Six one-act plays are chosen and dramatic readings are presented in November. Rules of the contest are here.

The Phillips’ Mill Community Association is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the promotion of the arts and the preservation of the artistic and cultural heritage of the Bucks County area. It offers programs in art, theater, and photography for children and adults, and is located at 2619 River Road in New Hope, Pa. Call 215.862.0582 for more information.