Theater in the Open has always been a cheap date: The first show of a production is free, the rest of the run costs only only eight bucks. Even a seriously thrifty Yankee — is there any other kind? — can’t complain about that. Well, not too much, anyhow. But this year it gets even better: All of TITO’s “in the open” shows will be free. That’s right, free. The company, which lives and performs at Maudslay State Park, set their ticket-takers adrift on Tuesday, after announcing its new season, its thirty-second — and if you can’t find something to cheer about this inaugural free season, well, there’s no pleasing you. They’ll be staging another one of those crazy pantos, a form derived from ancient Italian improvisational shows that features song, dance, buffoonery, slapstick and audience participation. They’ve got one of those happy-happy Stephen Haley shows. No, not Beckett, but almost as upbeat: “The Flies,” Jean Paul Sartre’s take on Elektra, the Greek tragedy. They’ll also, in classic TITO form, dive into those creepy fairy tales we like to torture our kids with — this one an original adaptation of Grimm Brothers stories written by Port playwright, and TITO alumn, Gregory S. Moss, who has been bouncing around from one production of his works to the next. All of this, and more, for free. Which, of course, just begs the question: Edward F. Speck, Are you out of your mind?
