Alum’s play set for New York Fringe Festival

2:11 p.m., Aug. 4, 2005--The Mayor Who Would Be Sondheim, a new comedy by UD alum John Doble, ’71/’73MS AS, will be presented as part of the New York International Fringe Festival, Aug. 12-28, at the Mazer Theater, 197 East Broadway, in New York City.

The Mayor Who Would Be Sondheim is based loosely on Doble’s earlier life in politics in Wilmington. In the mid-‘70s he worked for the late Mayor Tom Maloney, who was well-known for his love of musicals and his handling of a sanitation strike. Doble also has worked in many statewide and national elections, including the campaign of 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry.

Both whimsical and hard-boiled, The Mayor Who Would Be Sondheim, is set in a small New Jersey city whose mayor is enamored of Broadway show tunes and who never met a civic issue that couldn't be addressed with a few well-chosen lyrics. His love of Stephen Sondheim and other Broadway lyricists is put to the test as he attempts to lead the troubled city through bankruptcy, a sanitation strike, racial tension, citizen unrest and accusations of police misconduct--all while running for re-election.

John Doble

Doble’s one-act plays, Blind Date and The Mortgage, were produced in new play festivals in New York City last summer. His collection of short fiction, Lefty and Other Stories (Clemson University Press, 2003), was nominated for the 2004 Pushcart Prize and is available from the publisher and online at [www.amazon.com].

Doble is the founder of Doble Research Associates Inc., a nonpartisan, public-interest consulting firm that specializes in exploring public and leadership opinions on complex issues. Doble and his wife, Elizabeth Rounds Doble, ’74 AS, live in Manhattan with their dog, Bear.

For show times and tickets go to [www.fringenyc.org].

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