Production gets inside the head of neurologist
Local actor and director John F. Daniel will bring an award winning off- Broadway play to the stage of the Bossier Arts Council’s East Bank Theatre.
The production is “The Other Place” by Sharr White. Auditions were held earlier for the show that will be staged in September. The staging will be the inaugural production of the Shrapnel Stage Company.
“The Other Place” was a recipient of the 2010 Playwrights First Award, the 2011 Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation’s Theatre Visions Fund Award, and was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.
“The Other Place” presented its world premiere Off-Broadway with MCC Theatre and its Broadway premiere with Manhattan Theatre Club, both productions featuring Laurie Metcalf. The show was an Outer Critics Circle Award nominee for Outstanding New Off- Broadway Play.
The production tells the story of neurologist Juliana Smithton. Just as her research seems to have uncovered a breakthrough in her field, Smithton’s life takes a strange turn. During a lecture to colleagues at an exclusive beach resort, she spots a mysterious young woman in a bikini in the middle of the crowd of business suits, making her doubt her sanity.
Adding to her health issues, her husband has filed for divorce and her daughter has eloped with a much older man. One step at a time, in a cottage on the windswept shores of Cape Cod, she is forced to deal with contradictory evidence, blurred truth and fragmented memories.
Daniel said, “This brilliantly crafted work, nothing is as it seems. Piece by piece, a mystery unfolds as fact blurs with fiction, past collides with present, and the elusive truth about Juliana boils to the surface.”
The production is at 8 p.m. Sept. 4, 5,6,13 and at 2 p.m Sept. 7. There will be a 2 p.m. matinee and an 8 p.m. performance Sept. 14. All performances will be at the East Bank Theatre. For tickets and information, call 742-8310.
Guettel Remembered
Director Marcia Thomas of the Jefferson, Texas, Opera House Theatre Players has reported she received notice of the death of one of the East Texas community theater’s longtime sponsors.
Mary Rodgers Guettel was the daughter of famed composer Richard Rodgers and an acclaimed composer, writer, actress and executive in her own right. Guettel befriended the theater company and in particular its president, Dorothy Craver, in the past several years, according to Thomas.
Guettel had been hospitalized recently but was reported to be recovering at home when her death occurred June 26 in Manhattan. She reportedly had been ill for some time according to her son, Alec Guettel. At the time of her death, Guettel was chairman emeritus and served on the board of the Juilliard School. She served on the boards of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival and the Dramatists Guild Council.
Thomas said, Guettel was “the most genuinely interested, the kindest, most generous person I have ever met within the bounds of show business. Her personality was so warm and friendly that she made you feel completely welcome and equal to her in all respects. The world has lost a wonderful human being and the theater and music world will surely miss her.”
Guettel was also a successful children’s author, penning “Freaky Friday,” which she later adapted into the hit 1976 movie, and the books “A Billion for Boris,” “Summer Switch” and “The Devil and Max Devlin.”
She was also well-known as a director of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which handles the work of her father, as well as his frequent collaborator Oscar Hammerstein, Irving Berlin and others. Her Broadway career began as composer of the 1959 musical “Once Upon a Mattress,” starring Carol Burnett. The musical was later broadcast on network television. A 1997 Broadway production, starring Sarah Jessica Parker, earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical Revival. Her other Great White Way credits included “Working” (for which she received a Tony nod), “The Madwoman of Central Park West,” “Hot Spot” and “From A to Z.” Her musicals have been celebrated in the revue “Hey, Love.”
The Jefferson theater group was first contacted by Guettel when it produced Richard Rodger’s popular musical comedy “I Remember Mama” several years ago. A note from Guettel at that time resulted in a continuing exchange of letters and emails. That correspondence culminated in a visit to Guettel’s home in New York by theater president Dorothy Craver and her daughter, Marcia Thomas. During that visit, Guettel was presented with an award from the Opera House Players for her outstanding contributions to the cultural and performing arts in Jefferson.
Joe Todaro may be reached at joetodaro@scribio.com.
