There is one more weekend to catch "The Man Who Came to Dinner," the brilliant, witty play by Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman and directed by Robert J. Farley. Farley happens to be the director in residence of the Georgia Ensemble Theatre, a group he has led for the past 20 years to the applause of many.
This production deserves everyone's attention. The skill of Farley's direction is matched only by the talent of the actors, one after the other, who pull you into the wild and wonderful plot. Sheridan Whitehead is the most obnoxious, outrageous guest who takes advantage of anyone and everyone. He's the character you love to hate. No shame!
Years ago, I was cast as the old lady, the ax murderer, when I was in high school. How very strange to be sitting in the audience listening to the lines and going back in time. This play made its debut in 1942 -- even before I was born. No matter, the fun is still fresh and the story as tight and surprising as ever. The beauty of theater is that a new face, a new gesture, a new prop brings with it new life.
Try to get tickets now! Last Friday was pretty much a full house.
Monday, September 17, 2012
Traffik! A Great Theater Experience!
If anything can rock your boat, this has to be it. Yesterday, I caught the matinee at Four Stages Theater and was thoroughly blown away by the characters onstage. Each one shared a seamy, painful, personal story of how they were connected to the sex trade. Taken from real life interviews writer/director/actor Jacquay Waller conducted before putting the production together, there was the searing ring of truth to all of them.
We shared the experience of a high school girl whose stepfather was selling her and her friends at "parties" while her mother was away on business. A pervert talked about how much he "loved" the two little girls he "entertained" with the permission of their mother who collected $50,000. It makes you want to run to the lavatory and wash just to have listened.
Waller stole the show as a pimp who strutted in his fancy suit and talked about how he "loved" his girls but would kill them -- and had done so -- if they didn't bring the "paper."
In the rest room at intermission, a grandmother confessed to me that she is concerned about her granddaughter and the stepfather who is in the household and "doesn't seem right." Right out of the script.
If the performances on stage were awesome, so was audience participation at the end. Characters paraded onto the stage and the audience was invited to question them -- not as actors -- as the characters they played. Hard hitting comments put them on the spot. Why did they do what they did? Great street language on both sides. There was no fooling around or letting anyone off easy..
Traffik will be going on the road. This was its premiere. The website to follow is www.catchingdreamz.com.
There are also videos out there that The Dreamcatcher Collective, Inc. has created in association with Dreamcatcher Productions.
We shared the experience of a high school girl whose stepfather was selling her and her friends at "parties" while her mother was away on business. A pervert talked about how much he "loved" the two little girls he "entertained" with the permission of their mother who collected $50,000. It makes you want to run to the lavatory and wash just to have listened.
Waller stole the show as a pimp who strutted in his fancy suit and talked about how he "loved" his girls but would kill them -- and had done so -- if they didn't bring the "paper."
In the rest room at intermission, a grandmother confessed to me that she is concerned about her granddaughter and the stepfather who is in the household and "doesn't seem right." Right out of the script.
If the performances on stage were awesome, so was audience participation at the end. Characters paraded onto the stage and the audience was invited to question them -- not as actors -- as the characters they played. Hard hitting comments put them on the spot. Why did they do what they did? Great street language on both sides. There was no fooling around or letting anyone off easy..
Traffik will be going on the road. This was its premiere. The website to follow is www.catchingdreamz.com.
There are also videos out there that The Dreamcatcher Collective, Inc. has created in association with Dreamcatcher Productions.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
About getting famous and loving the paparazzi
This is the whole, naked truth. Sort of. Yeah.
It happened a couple of weeks ago. I struck pay dirt! Appen Newspapers called to let me know I had won the jackpot. I had won a 6-month membership to the YMCA. Whoo-hoo! I drove to their office on N. Main Street and thought, while I'm here, I'll ask if a reporter might be interested in my exhibit at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.
Pay dirt again! A very arts savvy young man appeared -- masters degree in Architectural Art and Art History. We sat down, talked and --- voila! I am so famous in this town I can barely make it through the paparazzi on my lawn. The dogs are barking all the time. It's crazy.
It happened a couple of weeks ago. I struck pay dirt! Appen Newspapers called to let me know I had won the jackpot. I had won a 6-month membership to the YMCA. Whoo-hoo! I drove to their office on N. Main Street and thought, while I'm here, I'll ask if a reporter might be interested in my exhibit at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.
Pay dirt again! A very arts savvy young man appeared -- masters degree in Architectural Art and Art History. We sat down, talked and --- voila! I am so famous in this town I can barely make it through the paparazzi on my lawn. The dogs are barking all the time. It's crazy.
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