ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In 2023, there's a certain romance to stepping inside a vinyl record shop; turn back the clock, turn on the turntable, connect with folks in your town, and play the music you love.
At Ka-Chunk Records in Annapolis, there's another kind of 'play.'
Bob Bartlett teaches theater at Bowie State University. He likes to write plays meant to be viewed and acted in unorthodox places - like in a laundromat and in the woods. The record store will be the site of his romantic comedy, Love and Vinyl.
"There’s a history of families passing down vinyl, generation after generation. That’s part of the heart of the play, that this means all so much to so many," said Bartlett.
The setting, actors say, adds to the intimacy of the production.
"It strips away all the artifice of seeing a play. You’re in kind of a lived-in place. And it allows the audience to sort of eavesdrop on real life," said Andy Brownstein, an actor in the production.
The store itself will seat about a dozen people at its location, just a few steps away from the Maryland State House.
"The whole idea that the record culture is still there, and people love it so hard, that’s why it’s resurging like it is," Rachel Manteuffel, an actress in the play, told WMAR.
That’s a point in the script, says Bartlett. You might be able to listen to a record online - but some things you just can’t get with a click and a download.
The play opens this Thursday and runs until August 6th.
