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Curtain Notes
Alas, the Festival is over for 2002! It was great fun and a very successful venture (with an average audience of 178 -- over 80% occupancy each night!) The steering committee (made up of members of the Guild, The Charleston Stage Company, and The Kanawha Players) plan to meet on July 30, 2002 to discuss options and ideas for a return of the festival in 2003!
Ten Plays in Four Days!
Overview
Ten plays will be presented at the premiere of the Charleston Theatre Festival, the first-ever joint venture of three of Charleston’s community theater groups: The Charleston Light Opera Guild, The Charleston Stage Company, and The Kanawha Players.
The varied program promises to move and delight theatergoers of all kinds with themes ranging from American history to long lost loves, from female body image to country music legends.
The Festival takes place June 20 through 23, 2002 at the Guild Theatre on Charleston’s West Side. In addition to the three local theater groups, there will be performances by seven additional theater groups from throughout West Virginia presented at the Festival.
All plays are one act in length or abridged versions of full-length plays. Ticket prices for the Festival are $16 per night or $50 for the entire festival. The box office (located at the Guild Theatre) opens June 10 and is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM daily. The box office phone number is (304) 342-9312. Seating for all shows is open seating. For more information on the Charleston Theatre Festival, call (304) 343-6015.
Schedule
Thursday, June 20, 7:30PM
Tintypes presented by The Charleston Light Opera Guild of Charleston, WV. A musical revue about the immigrant experience of America from 1890 to 1917 when optimism and ingenuity ran high. The story, the history of America, is told through dozens of songs of that era. The growing pains of our nation are chronicled in this grand pageant of pre-World War I America.
The Beauty Queen of Leenane presented by Ogelbay Institute of Wheeling, WV. A plain and lonely woman and her manipulative aging mother act out a conflict which vividly portrays human nature pitted against appalling circumstances. It is a darkly comic tale, set in Ireland – a modern masterpiece.
Friday, June 21, 7:30PM
The Love Talker presented by Art Effects Productions of Sutton, WV. An eerie and sensual play of two sisters battling the forces of the forest set in an age when strange spirits walked the earth magic was all around. The yarn seems to have emanated from the darkest reaches of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales.
I’m Herbert fromYou Can’t Hear Me When the Water’s Running presented by the Brooke Hills Playhouse of Wellsburg, WV. Two old people are sitting on a porch in rocking chairs and talking. Each has one or more previous marriages and perhaps a few flings, but they’ re hazy as to details. In fact they don’t always know which one the other one is.
The Most Massive Woman Wins presented by The Charleston Stage Company of Charleston, WV. This play tells a story of four women with very different backgrounds and lifestyles, who come together in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic. The one act play offers a thought-provoking glimpse at the anguished consequences for women trying to conform to society's often unattainable image of female beauty and a woman's self image.
Saturday, June 22, 7:30PM
The Pavilion presented by Kanawha Players of Charleston, WV. At an aging Pavilion, a dance hall marked for demolition in small-town Minnesota, two former lovers meet at their high school reunion loaded with anger, regret, and a need to confront a life-defining moment. Described as the Our Town of our time, this Pulitzer drama nominee asks if two people can reverse a single decision made 20 years ago or if the balance of their universe has been altered forever.
The Last Touchy Feely Drama on the American Stage presented by the Gas Valley Players of New Cumberland, WV. A ludicrously slow-moving father and son reconciliation theater piece is broken down and over-analyzed by a trio of cruelly detached sportscasters. Brimming over with rapid-fire monologues, the satire rests on exposing America’s fascination with victim-glorification and the theater community’s preoccupation with emotional pain as a dramatic punctuation mark.
Always…Patsy Cline presented by Sunny Productions (originated at the Actors Guild of Parkersburg, WV). An endearing story of friendship and fun, mingled with superior performances of over twenty-five of Patsy Cline’s hits. Patsy’s biggest fan, Louise, invites the audience into her living room, kitchen, and sexy dude (her pink and black Pontiac) to give a closer look at this country legend.
Sunday, June 23, 7:30PM
Deliver Us Not! (or Birth, Where Is Thy Sting?) presented by Excalibur Productions of Chester, WV. Trying to come to terms with their impending due-date, three fetuses sharing the cramped space in a womb debate the possibilities of life-after-birth. The characters represent a trio of philosophies on life in the “next world”.
Grace and Glorie presented by the Historic Fayette Theatre of Fayetteville, WV A heartwarming play about a mountain woman who is dying and the young city woman who has come to care for her. The two stubborn women unexpectedly find a deep bond and compassion despite their disparate backgrounds.
Sponsors
The Festival is sponsored by BB&T, Mix 94.5 Radio, Ed and Susan Maier, and the Westside Neighborhood Association. Other funding sources include the The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, the Jacobson Foundation, the Daywood Foundation, the Herscher Foundation, and Wild and Wonderful West Virginia (West Virginia Division of Tourism). |
Last modified: Saturday July 26, 2008 |
