I have corrupted the famous Horace Greeley admonition.

Instead of just dutifully rushing headlong west toward Broadway in Manhattan, think of traveling "out east" to see good, hearty theater productions. Theater Three on Main Street in Port Jefferson is exactly what I am referring to! They have taken an old movie house and turned it into a Broadway on Main Street, with loving nurture.

Last year we chanced upon the Seventh Annual Festival of One-Act Plays in Port Jeff. The five one-act plays were superb. The acting, the stagecraft, the writing were on a level of any Broadway show I had ever attended. As an added bonus, we partook of the captivating setting of Port Jeff on LI Sound and the many seafood and ethnic restaurants. I compared it to a visit to a theater festival in a distant part of the USA. Actually, I was only 50 or so miles to the east.

Coincidentally, I discovered on the Playbill that my dental school classmate's wife, Shirley Cherches, was a vice president on the Board of Directors of Theater Three.

Last week, Lorraine and I ventured out east to see this year's world première eighth annual Festival of One-Act Plays on a Saturday 3 p.m. performance. These plays were selected from hundreds of submissions by talented young playwrights. The executive artistic director is a talented young man named Jeffrey Sanzel. Nobody sits further than three aisles from the stage. There is an intimacy with the drama and the players that is breathtaking.

The first offering was The Duty of Saints by Jules Tosca. An Italian secular journalist (Linda May) confronts the local Bishop (Bill Pierce), who is recommending the beatification of her deceased sister who was a nun in Africa. This sainthood is bestowed on people who live a life of almost perfect virtue. The secrets that emerge are terrifying along with the attempts by her mother (Debbie Starker) to submerge them. A line from the drama sums it all up, "Faith versus Medicine."

Play number two, Parent-Teacher Conference by S.W. Senek, lightened the atmosphere with a farce based on the famous schoolboy ruse "The dog ate my homework." An obnoxious attorney (Matt Senese) threatens to sue the school teacher (Dane Bush) who reprimanded her student for lying about his homework assignment.

P.S. The dog is part of the lawsuit. Funny!

Play three, Attention Please by Louis Felder, deals with a divorced child (Elizabeth Ladd) returning to the home of her widowed father (Warren Lundy) and causing problems. Psychologically, very powerful.

Play four, The World of Flesh and Blood, has two aging single women at a dance-bar commenting on the local men and on their lonely lives. Great dialogue! (Linda May and Elizabeth Ladd).

Play five, Worth a Thousand Words by Stephanie De Leo, deals with a single, widowed mother trying to make contact with her autistic child. (Linda May - mother, Sarah Markowitz - child). Haunting performance by pre-teen Sarah as the autistic child.

The curtain came down to great applause.

After a lovely supper at a Greek restaurant with Dr. Mark and Shirley Cherches, we returned to Theater Three for an evening performance of Always Patsy Cline. This was held upstairs in a large theater. This was heaven for country and western fans and especially for Patsy Cline fans. The two-women show presented Deborah Formosa as Patsy. Some of her high notes made it seem as if you were listening to the original. The show received a standing ovation by the large audience.

It has been a long time since we sat through a theatrical double feature. The day was stimulating and extremely enjoyable.

I heartily recommend Theater Three in Port Jefferson for quality entertainment. Call the box office for a schedule of future productions.