Comedic play about out-of-control egos to debut in Monroe

MONROE-Veteran actor, playwright and director Dr. Jayanti Patel's debut performance of Ego-Leela, a comedic play about out-of-control ego in modern society, will be performed at The Blue Sky Theater at Ananda Ashram in Monroe, on Saturday, Aug. 14, at 8:30 pm. Admission is $12 with no reservations required. Dr. Patel, an effusive storyteller with an amazingly rich and varied history, regularly charms audiences with his humorous stories and insightful observations about life. Patel has a message for modern society. "Ego has created such havoc in the world that we do not know what is right and what is wrong. Our whole mind has been taken up by media, by politics, by religion, because of our ego" says the veteran performing artist, journalist, playwright, director, cartoonist and humorist. This Saturday Dr. Patel debuts his newest play, Ego Leela, at the Ananda Ashram in Monroe. "Our play is a comedy that has four acts: ego in politics, ego in religion, ego in the synthetic society taking away our nature, and ego in yoga. Modern man is alienated from himself, from his fellow men and from nature. As a result, the Ego Leela starts where he wants to make the maximum profit out of everything in life. But at the end there may be nothing left - except to have a good laugh." Dr. Patel knows a lot about laughter. In the 1950s he entertained millions of radio listeners in India with a character he created named Ranglo. "Ranglo means clown. Not a circus clown, but a spiritual clown who tries to understand himself by making fun of himself and of society. Ranglo is not the product of Broadway or off-Broadway, but of Inner-Broadway." Inner-Broadway is a term Dr. Patel coined to describe the higher mission of theater, spiritual enlightenment. He sees theater not just as a form of entertainment, but as a way to help people look inward and gain deeper insight about their lives. "A foolish man dies, but foolishness never dies. We need to see past our foolishness and petty differences. If we understand this, our ego goes away." For directions or more information call 782-5575 or visit www.anandaashram.org.