Clyde is the boss and she's (yes, she) a tyrant. She's hired ex-cons, ostensibly giving then a second chance, but makes their work lives a living hell — or at least a purgatory —on Earth, constantly belittling and berating them.

So why would accomplished actress Michelle Elaine who is in constant demand throughout Houston's theaters (A Christmas Carol, Clue and Sweat at Alley Theatre; Disgraced at 4th Wall, The Christmas Show at A.D. Players) want to play such a disagreeable person?

Well, for one thing, Clyde's, making its regional premiere and about to start an Ensemble Theatre, was written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Lynn Nottage. Elaine had done two other plays by Nottage — Sweat and  By the Way, Meet Vera Stark— and was ready for another.  "When this show came up, of all the shows in the Ensemble season, I said, 'I think I'm going to audition for this one for sure.'"

The timing was right . "And I wanted to be back on the Ensemble stage where I hadn't been for years."

And for another: "I actually have never played a role where I was the villain," Elaine says.

Clyde's is set in a Pennsylvania truck stop sandwich shop where these former felons are trying to forge a second chance at life and they've decided part of a way to do that is to come up with the perfect sandwich. 

Asked to describe her character, Elaine says: "She’s absolutely awful and purposefully so which is what makes her fun to play.  She'll make you laugh but you're not going to like her character.

"She's the antagonist and she makes it harder. She purposefully antagonizes the kitchen workers. She takes advantage of the fact that they are formerly incarcerated and their options are few. Whereas she welcomes them as the only person in town that will hire ex-convicts, she takes advantage of that and tortures them."

At the same time, because of the way Nottage has written the play, Elaine says audiences will also find themselves rooting for Clyde. "Because you want her to change." Acknowledging that a lot of actors find it fun to play the villain, the challenge Elaine says, is to not make the character just a one-note. "You have to figure out why is this person so mean."

At the same time she says, "It's rewarding to see how the other characters rise above what pain she inflicts on them."

The one-act, 90-minute show set in present day is loaded with star power. Besides Elaine, Shirley Jo Finney is directing (as an actor she appeared on Lou Grant, Hill Street Blues and Amen and directed episodes of Moesha). Finney now directs plays across the country including The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  The design team is all female with the exception of the sound designer.

The cast is very diverse Elaine says. Actor and playwright Timothy Eric (Alley: Of Mice and Men, Stages: Speaking in Tongues and Ensemble: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom)  plays Montrellous. UH senior Michael Sifuentes (Main Street: Aunt Julia & the Scriptwriter) makes his Ensemble debut playing Rafael. Actress Krystle (off-Broadway theater and film and television) plays Letitia and Wesley Witson (Dirt Dog Treatre: Clybourne Park, 4th Wall: Gloria) makes his Ensemble debut as Jason.

Rather than a lecture, Nottage's play is filled with laughter to get its point across. Elaine says Nottage is so effective as a playwright because: "She just has such a masterful way of tackling difficult and relevant topics that everyone can see themselves and you can see one another. "

Clyde's, in particular, is "about hope and change and race and your fellow Americans. How do you treat this person that was formerly incarcerated. It opens your eyes in so many ways."

Clyde's opens on March 23 and continues through April 16 with performances scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays at The Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main. For more information, call 713-520-0055or visit ensemblehouston.com. $37-$53.