Readers Theatre Repertory continued its love affair with story and character with two quirky tales on February 12 and 13, “American Tropical,” by Richard Ford, and “Thymus Vulgaris,” by Lanford Wilson. The month’s theme was “Lovely Quirks,” and the shows were directed by Bob Martin, who had mounted both plays prior. “We’re in our ninth season now,” he said, “and I wanted to gift audiences who might have missed these stories in ’02, when I staged ‘American Tropical,’ and ’04, when I directed ‘Thymus Vulgaris.'”

Martin said the stories were doubly-apt for RTR’s Valentine’s Weekend. “Certainly both are stories about love and desperate acts, but to me, reading them again, it’s the quality of the writing that appeals the most. The characters, their stories, their quirky-but-perfect language — beautiful.”

The cast included Adair Chappell, Aliera Morasch, Amy Veldman, and Robert Wylie.