The first Project Shaw staged reading of the season, Village Wooing, a shipboard non-romance, took place at Symphony Space last night

(gingoldgroup.com) with two stars of the first water. Jefferson Mays, Tony Award-winning actor for his role in Gentleman’s Guide to Murder,

(broadwayworld.com) read the part of the annoyed upper class travel writer and J. Smith-Cameron, Tony-nominated actor and Outer Circle Critics Award winner, read the part of the annoying lower class tourist.

The sold-out audience (and both of us) loved the funny, romantic one-act play in three scenes. The theme was not a new one in Shaw–the straightforward unconventional woman redeeming the somewhat confused conventional man–but it delivered the usual Shaw wit and wisdom. The play was  preceded by selections of best Shaw quotes. My two favorites, “The Lack of Money is the Root of All Evil,”  and

(inspirational-picture-quotes.com) are both from Major Barbara.

Director and Founder of the Gingold Theatrical Group David Staller produces the full Shaw canon through monthly readings by all-star casts. The actors perform on Monday nights, taking a busman’s holiday from their Broadway shows, which are usually dark Mondays. The cost for seniors is $25 per ticket.

Gingold Theatrical Group explores human rights issues through Shaw’s plays, which deal with women’s rights, animal rights, and even same-sex marriage.Their full production of Major Barbara, co-produced by the Pearl Theater, will begin performances in November.

(gingoldgroup.com)