John Astin, a visiting professor in the Writing Seminars, and four of his student actors will take the stage this weekend in a Theatre Hopkins and Hopkins Studio Players presentation of Jeffrey Sweet's Bluff.

"It's modern. It's very interesting, well-written and provocative," said Astin, the Hollywood actor and director perhaps best known for his role as Gomez Addams in The Addams Family television series.

Bluff showcases the playwright's knack for balancing scathingly funny one-liners with realistic, gut-wrenching situations in a story about a young couple who fall in love while aiding the victim of a gay bashing.

Astin and Studio Players Kateri Chambers, Loren Dunn, Brandom Niel-sen and Myriah Perkins will be joined by director Jim Glossman and actress Linda Setzer from New York.

A 1952 graduate of Johns Hopkins, the Baltimore-born Astin has been teaching acting and directing courses at his alma mater for three years. He is helping to lead an overall renaissance of the theater program in which he studied.

The play will have three performances, all in the Merrick Barn on the Homewood campus: at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22; and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, March 23. Admission is $10 for the general public and free to Johns Hopkins faculty, staff and students. Reservations should be made in advance by calling 410-516-7159.