The Huntsville Community Theatre is bringing small-town Texas to the stage this week with its performance of the popular play “Daddy’s Dyin’ Who’s Got the Will?”
The show begins at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Huntsville’s Old Town Theatre, 1023 12th St., and continues nightly through Saturday, with a matinee performance at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The play centers around members of the Turnover family who have come home to a small Texas town to await the death of their father, Buford, played by Dewayne Springer.
“Daddy’s Dyin’ is part of a trilogy by Texas playwright Del Shores,” director Robby Bardwell said Monday. “I have directed a few of Shores’ plays before and really enjoy his view on Southern humor and the way he looks at Southern life.
“What I love about Del Shores work it that it includes characters all people can relate to at some level,” he said. “It is a good, entertaining play that will make you laugh one minute and cry the next.”
In his first time with the HCT, cast member Sam Weeks plays the role of Orville, the overbearing, stubborn and abusive son of the dying patriarch.
“It has been such an interesting process playing this role,” Weeks said. “I like that Shores can really nail down the characters.
“He understands how their minds work in a way that makes them really speak to the audience, and really makes them come across as real people.”
For cast members Jordan Smith and Jennifer Grainger, this production allows them to be a little bit more themselves, while at the sme time getting the chance to be people they would never want to be in real life.
“We get to use our deep Southern accents and wear the big wigs,” said Huntsville resident Smith, who is playing responsible sister Sara Lee in the production. “It is very exciting. I think people will really like this play and will be able to see their own family members in our characters.”
Grainger, a senior drama major at Sam Houston State University, plays the role of the family’s youngest sister Evalita.
“This is the biggest role I have ever played,” Grainger said. “Evalita is this trashy woman who has been married and divorced six times. She is like no one I have ever met.
“I have been in theater my whole life,” she said. “I love playing characters who are unlike myself — people I would never really want to be.”
Other members of the cast include Angela Bell as Marlene; Ashton Sonner as Mama Wheelis; Monica Bradley as Lurlene; and Jack Ivy as Harmony.
Tickets for Daddy’s Dyin’ are $10 for general audiences, $8 for seniors and $5 for students with valid identification.
Reservations can be made by calling the box office at (936) 291-7933.
Local News
Community Theatre stages popular play
- Local News
-
-
Fresh Face at City Hall
-
New Waverly VFD saves house
Emergency responders quickly extinguished a fire before it caused serious damage to a home in southern Walker County on Tuesday afternoon.
-
Crawfest back for 7th year
For the past seven years, Walker County residents have been cracking claws for a cause.
-
Museum photo contest back
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum has announced it is now accepting entries for its 2012 photo contest.
-
Region VI education participants receive certificates
Through the Adult education program, Region VI provides instruction in Adult Basic Education (ABE), Adult Secondary Education (ASE), General Education Development (GED) preparation and English as a Second Language (ESL), to individuals that did not complete high school, desire to increase academic skills, would like to obtain a General Education Development (GED) certificate or who simply desire to become more proficient in speaking English.
-
Award for criminal justice legislation
- Sheriff’s Office releases crime map to public
-
SHSU graduates join Army as officers
Fifteen ROTC cadets at Sam Houston State University, including 12 criminal justice majors, were officially commissioned as officers in the U.S. Army during a ceremony last week.
-
STAFS donors remembered
The Southeast Texas Applied Forensic Science Facility honored 27 individuals, including six veterans and a cancer victim whose final weeks were documented in a KTRK news story, for donating their bodies for research at the facility during the 2011-2012 academic year.
-
SHSU honors staff
Four Sam Houston State University employees who have demonstrated excellence in service, commitment, meritorious performance and a high level of motivation have been selected as recipients of the 2012 Staff Excellence Award.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Secret Service Boss: 'I Apologize'
Giant Bull Head Draws Drivers to South Dakota
Astrodome Fades As Houston Decides Fate
Egyptians Vote in Historic Presidential Election
Franciscan Files Tell Stories of Priest Abuse
Wildfire Destroys 2 Homes
Flight Diverted After Suspicious Note
Joplin Remembers Deadly Tornado, 1 Year Later
Panel Recommends Against Routine Prostate Test
Fired Lingerie Employee Claims Discrimination
Joplin Marches to 'Remember' Tornado Victims
Facebook Shares Continue Negative Slide
Cuba Waiting for Cyber Age to Come
8 Hurt in Oklahoma Shooting After NBA Playoff
Sheriff: DNA Links Suspect to Missing CA Teen
US Airways: Diverted Flight Has 'Landed Safely'
Revived Focus on Regulation After JPMorgan Loss
