Cape Playwright Brings Back 9-Ball For 25th Anniversary Run

BREWSTER – There’s a history of artists revisiting their work. Walt Whitman originally published his “Leaves of Grass” in 1855 yet would write new editions through 1892. Marianne Moore’s first draft of “Poetry” was published with 30 lines while her final published edition was three. Henry James revisited multiple works as his style changed across the course of his career.

A local Cape Cod playwright is of the same mold, revisiting his work 25 years after it was first performed.

Cape Rep Theater opens its 2026 season on May 6 with the 25th anniversary of “9-Ball.” The play, written and directed by Cape playwright Art Devine, premiered at Cape Rep in 2001 and had a run that would take them throughout multiple venues in Massachusetts. Devine noted a universal quality within the context of the play.

 “Everybody that sees it, whether they're young or old, and everything in between, they can relate. They can relate to the characters,” said Devine. “They can tap into the journey of these two people, the narration and how they travel in time.”

Inspired by a true story, the play begins in 1967 in the midst of the Vietnam War. During a game of pool, two men agree to swap identities that take them down very different paths. One character really wants to enlist but he can’t because he has a criminal record. The other character is a normal 18-year-old in the middle of the 60s. When they switch, one goes to prison and the other goes to war. The play explores their journeys, the era and the effects the war had on the people of the time. According to Devine, “the whole point is what the draft, that little notice that came in the mail to the males at the age of 18 during the Vietnam War, what it did to people, what it did to families, what it did to the country, what it did to these two individuals.”

Revisiting the play for the fourth time, Devine mentioned he does see something new within the work in each production. For him, the reason for the change is what new actors bring to the roles.

 “If I have ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and we run ‘Romeo and Juliet’ for three months, and then we change out Juliet, it's a completely different thing,” said Devine. “These are all completely different actors. When I revisit it, I have it in my mind - I know what I want to do with it, but I also trust them to say, ‘this is what I feel my character would do or say.’ We don't change the structure of it or anything like that, but it's a completely different play because we have nine different actors.

 “I'm always surprised at things that people bring to the work that I didn't think about.”

Devine mentioned that production was wonderful and that he has a great cast. A different element to this staging is the age of that cast. With a handful of actors at draft-eligible age, and with automatic registration for the draft starting in December 2026, there’s an authenticity in the urgency of the performance that isn’t there with a set of older actors. The similarities between the era and now were something Devine noted.

 “It's amazing to me how it's relevant today,” said Devine. “We're going to initiate the draft. We're in a war in a foreign soil that nobody really wants to be in. And we kind of have a corrupt president. We had a corrupt president in Nixon. History repeats itself.”

According to the release for the event, the cast features Macklin Devine (Trad) as Richie Feinberg and newcomer Elijah Corbin as Larry Doucette. Jimmy Sawyer (Peter and the Starcatcher), Cam Torres (She Loves Me) and Yakov Schwartzberg (She Loves Me) return to the Cape Rep stage joined by Ju’el Martin, Zack Johnson, Izaak van der Wende and Hugo William Ceraldi making their debuts at Cape Rep Theatre.

 “9-Ball” was the first of three premieres that Devine ran at Cape Rep Theatre. He runs Cape Rep’s TheatreLab playwriting classes and is the founder of The Veterans Company, otherwise known as VetCo, a free program open to any veteran looking to learn more about the “possibilities of theatre,” according to the Cape Rep website. Devine would note why he values working with Cape Rep.

 “It's because this is an artist-driven theater. We're committed to the artists in the community to bring their work to life,” said Devine. “I just love this theater company.”

All performances will be held in the Indoor Theater at Cape Rep. The show will run from May 6 through May 31, Wednesday through Saturday with performances at 7:30 p.m., and on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. There will be additional matinees on May 23 and May 30 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $40 and $30 for patrons 35 and under. Students rush half price at the door on the day of the show. There will also be a Pay-What-You-Like showing on May 8. 

For reservations and information, Cape Rep recommends calling the box office at (508) 896 – 1888 or visiting caperep.org. The Cape Rep Theatre is located at 3299 Main St, Brewster, MA 02631.