Our Town

by Thornton Wilder
directed by Glen Gourley

October 18-20, 2012
7:30 pm, Fine Arts Theatre
Peter D. Hyman Fine Arts Center

THE STORY:

This timeless drama of life in the mythical village of Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire, has become an American classic with universal appeal. Thornton Wilder’s most frequently performed play, Our Town appeared on Broadway in 1938 to wide acclaim, and won the Pulitzer Prize. From the very beginning, Our Town has been produced in amateur and professional theaters around the world.

And Baby Makes Seven

by Paula Vogel
directed by Dawn Larsen

February 20-23, 2013
7:30 pm Weds-Fri, 2:00 pm Sat
Performing Arts Center, Downtown Florence

THE STORY:

Anna, Ruth and Peter await the arrival of their newborn child, but first they must rid the crowded apartment of their three imaginary children.

“AND BABY MAKES SEVEN is a profound and clever comedy.” — Drama-Logue.

“What’s remarkable about BABY — a really lovely play — is the sense of innocence and optimism that rises from potentially dark subject matter.” — Philadelphia City Paper.

“AND BABY MAKES SEVEN is a hilariously inventive play. Playwright Vogel’s writing is witty and precise.” — Daily Californian.

“Don’t you sometimes want to howl like a dog, giggle till you drop, pout, pitch a fit…eat like a pig, get-your-own-way-no-matter-what, fly off with the balloons? You can go to Esalen and take a Trans-actional Analysis weekend to learn about your Child Within, or you can see AND BABY MAKES SEVEN. The second way comes with brownies at intermission.” — Providence Phoenix.

“Filled with outrageous touches, AND BABY MAKES SEVEN offers one of those rare theatergoing opportunities where everything comes together in a string of magical moments. Be prepared to be enchanted seven times over.” — Austin American Statesman.

“What makes AND BABY MAKES SEVEN fascinating is its brilliant unsettling of our notions, not of sexual boundaries, but of the real. It is theatre that cleverly theatricalises the everyday in a way that is both startling and funny.” — Age (Australia).

“[BABY is] most original and important for its redefinition of family. What is one to make of a family in which the boundaries between illusion and reality, power and subjection, friendship and love, female and male, are so porous… and in which family members freely materialize and dematerialize. It is a celebration of narrative, of the power of the theatre to make fantasy real. It commemorates the childhood one never had, the friends wished for but never gained, the desires never acknowledged.” — David Savran, Introduction to The Baltimore Waltz and Other Plays.

The Book of Liz

by Amy and David Sedaris
directed by Keith Best

April 11-13, 2013
7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday
Fine Arts Theatre, Hyman Fine Arts Center

THE STORY:

Sister Elizabeth Donderstock is Squeamish, has been her whole life. She makes cheese balls (traditional and smoky) that sustain the existence of her entire religious community, Clusterhaven. However, she feels unappreciated among her Squeamish brethren, and she decides to try her luck in the outside world. Along the way, she meets a Cockney-speaking Ukrainian immigrant couple who find her a job waiting tables at Plymouth Crock, a family restaurant run almost entirely by recovering alcoholics. The alcoholics love her. The customers love her. Her Danderfrock fits right in. Things are going great for Liz, until she’s offered a promotion to manager. Unfortunately, Liz has a sweating problem, and to get the job, she’ll have to fix it. Meanwhile, back at Clusterhaven, Liz’s compatriots just can’t seem to duplicate her cheese ball recipe, and it’s going to cost them their quaint, cloistered lifestyle. They are panic-stricken and desperate, and sure she sabotaged the recipe. Does Liz go through with the operation? Can the Squeamish be saved? Will the cheese balls ever taste good again? The answers to these and so many other questions can be found in the new comedy by David and Amy Sedaris.

THE CAST:

Matthew Adkins: REVEREND TOLLHOUSE, DUNCAN TRASK
Katharine Lamb: SISTER ELIZABETH DONDERSTOCK
Jordan Brown: BROTHER NATHANIEL BRIGHTBEE, YVONE, DONNY POLK
Daniel Price: VISIL, BROTHER HESIKIAH, RUDY BURTON
Rebecca Whitten: SISTER CONSTANCE BUTTERWORTH
Danielle Jones: OXANA
Michaela Gentry: DOCTOR BARB GINLEY, CECILY COLE
Gaby Pinneo: MS. YOLANDA FOXLEY, SOPHISTICATED VISITOR