On Saturday, Aug. 11 at 7:30 p.m., center stage at the Burt Reynolds Institute for Film and Theatre (BRIFT) will come alive in the most hilarious of ways. Three short plays by award-winning writer Christopher Durang will be performed by actors trained by Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds.
In The Actor’s Nightmare, George Spelvin, an accountant, is mistaken for an actor’s understudy and forced to perform in a play he knows nothing about. The story was inspired by every actor’s nightmare — forgetting his lines, losing his script and making a fool of himself on stage. This play will be directed by Peter Marzilli and features Vincent Chimato, Michael Varde, Karen Ross, Sarah O’Kelly and Roger Byrd.
For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls, a lighthearted take on Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, is one of Durang’s most popular one acts. Although it helps to be familiar with Williams’ classic plays, everyone can enjoy this comical story about parent-child relationships. For Whom… will be directed by Sherman Roberts and stars Rhonda Stearns, Lisa Colacurcio, Steven Mairano and David Ausem.
Desire, Desire, Desire is a parody of some of the best plays by Tennessee Williams and features characters resembling Blanche DuBois and Stanley (Streetcar Named Desire), Maggie and Big Daddy (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof) and a “tart” from Eugene O’Neill’s The Iceman Cometh.
In this version, slovenly Stanley is still yelling for “Stella!” six years after she left for a lemon Coke and never returned. Blanche attempts to seduce a census taker but is interrupted by Big Daddy and Maggie.
The so-called tart keeps reappearing much to Blanche’s annoyance. Directed by C. Todd Vittum, the cast includes Kate Katzman, Blaine Burdette, Robb Sellards, Jackie McDow, Tina Pfeiffer, Bill Butland, Amy Hoerler and Adele Zin.
The Burt Reynolds Institute is dedicated to offering performances and classes that expand and enhance the creative mind. Tickets for “An Evening of Christopher Durang Plays” cost $20 each. They are available by calling (561) 385-1584 or e-mailing briftfinancedirector@comcast.net. Seating is limited, so call in advance.
The Burt Reynolds Institute is located at 100 N. U.S. Highway 1, Jupiter, at the corner of U.S. 1 and Indiantown Road, directly across from the Chili’s restaurant. For further information, call (561) 743-9955.
