Like What You See On Stage? Buy It!

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports today that before every performance of Cabinet of Wonders: An Impossible History, a new play opening tonight in Philadelphia, ticketholders can purchase a variety of items in keeping with the theme of the play. Much of what's on stage is also on sale, meaning it might not be on stage the next night -- and in your home instead.

Cabinet of Wonders, a Gas & Electric Arts production, finds Leopold and Christina Carcass "on the edge of eviction from their decaying family mansion, dusty heirlooms and all. Christina, hoping against hope that an estate sale can raise enough to save the house, sorts through family artifacts, revealing specious memories and a shocking secret."

One hour before each performance, a "tag sale" allows audience members to uniquely interact with the production by participating in the fictional estate sale and choosing from "the kind of intriguing objects one might come across in an old house whose owners never threw anything away - vintage tablecloths, children's hankies, men's hats, ladies' gloves, Photoplay magazines, paint-by-number ballerinas, and 78-r.p.m. records."

Better get your tickets fast then, because this is a case where even if the show itself doesn't sell out, the set and props just might.

Lisa Jo Epstein, the artistic director of Gas & Electric Arts and stage director of Cabinet of Wonders, believes that this is the first audience-participation strategy of its kind, but welcomes anyone who knows otherwise to let her know.

Read the full story at Philly.com.

-- Daniel Lehman