Against the backdrop of a hurricane, a family drama brews in the play “Shelter in Place” – Houston Public Media

Hurricanes are the talk of the town across much of the Gulf Coast, the Southeast, and of course Houston. Maybe they are always somewhere in the back of our minds at this time of year. And weathering a storm is a rite of passage for anyone who has lived in the greater Houston area long enough.

The intensity of that experience provides the backdrop for a new play—and perhaps a metaphor for the drama brewing in the coastal Texas family at its center.

The production is called protection on site, and it has its world premiere through October 20 at the Pasadena Little Theater.

The story centers on a family who runs a bed and breakfast and a stranger who rents a room there as a storm hits.

In the audio above: Houston is important Producer Michael Hagerty attends a rehearsal to talk to the cast and figure out how to tell a story about a hurricane without traumatizing an audience that might be a little storm-weary themselves.

And he figures out how to make a hurricane funny, because even though the story is technically a comedy, co-director Danny Seibert tells Michael there’s more to it.