Some may think I push the Theatre at Patterson Park a little much. Perhaps I do, but with good reason. The theatre is becoming, through the tireless efforts of George W. Manus Jr. and Raemona Little-Taylor, the little engine that could. Their sweat and tears, however, come through very little help from the city that owns the theatre and the community center that surrounds it. But it chugs along, producing fine theatrical work that just keeps getting better.
But cannot the theatre fill the 311 cushy seats in the beautiful facility with great sound and lights for its awesome shows? Well, for one thing, you have to advertise to expect big crowds. You have to have a lighted marquee on the street telling folks what’s playing or coming next. You have to have a better playbill than a folded, white sheet of printer paper that looks as if it came off a typewriter.
The Theatre at Patterson Park needs the backing of the city that built it if it wants to become a major venue in Murfreesboro.
Now, with that being said
. . . Wait Until Dark, Frederick Knott’s thriller dealing with the blind, a doll and a drug deal, opened Oct. 5 at the Theatre at Patterson Park.
Director George W. Manus Jr. put a twist on the ending that will make your spine tingle. Erin Greene is convincing as a blind housewife caught up in mayhem dealing with drugs. Dwayne Douglas, Wolfgang Boehm, Michael Prevost, Taylor Alsup and Anton Minter round out this great cast.
A bow to Stephen Harr who did a fantastic job on the lighting on this particularly difficult production. The play continues for an encore presentation Oct. 19 – 21.
Frankenstein continues at the Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Oct. 18 – 20.
Lee Rennick wrote and directed this version of the Mary Shelley classic, and as good as the storyline is, the play itself just overwhelmed the stage, as it was crowded and tight. Upon seeing the set with its fine detail, I knew it was a Shane Lowery design and construction. Beautifully done, there was not an inch unused for this production.
With a cast of mostly high-school students, most did a good job with this version of the story, and the costumes and makeup looked eerie and worth the frights they gave. Several actors played as many as three parts in the show, so I give them kudos, playing one part is sometimes difficult enough. A deep bow to Ryan Dillinger as Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Cory Linton as the Creature, especially in several exchanges in Act II.
The actors in this play, however, need to remember to enunciate, and speak clearly when their backs are to the audience and during the almost constant movement of props in the darkened areas during the show.
On to Murfreesboro Little Theatre and “Hide and Seek,” which opened Friday, Oct. 12, for two weekends. It continues Oct. 18 – 20 at 7 p.m. and Oct. 21 at 2 p.m.
Again, a Shane Lowery set, it was the first time I had seen the entire stage being used at MLT, including the doorways and steps going to the second floor and basement, and water running in the sink. With my particular fondness of ghosts and things that go bump in the night, I loved this play.
Jeff Stateler and Valerie Londre led a fine ensemble of players into a rather spooky ordeal concerning the death of a little girl five years earlier. But 8-year-old Marian Storvik pretty much stole the show as Jackie (or was it Jill?) Bart. This scene will make your heart beat faster as this little actor uses the entire stage to “give up the ghost.”
Only Murfreesboro Little Theatre could use a line from the story “nothing down there but a few empty barrels and mice,” and as if on cue, have a real live (unexpected) mouse run around on stage, much to the audience’s delight.
Dana Richardson directed this fine play, and is to be commended for a great performance.
If you are in the Halloween spirit this weekend, any of these three plays are yours for the taking.
