Pioneer Spirit Set In 1870s, Play Celebrates Women’s Contributions To Opening Up Wilderness
Theater
The meaning of the title “Going to See the Elephant” will become clear on Friday at the Spokane Civic Theatre’s Firth Chew Studio Theatre.
This 1982 play is about pioneer women in 1870s Kansas coping with the fear and isolation of the prairie. “Going to see the elephant” means crossing the next hill to see what’s on the other side.
Metaphorically, it refers to the restless human curiosity that drives us to push ourselves outside our limits.
This play was first produced in 1982 by the Los Angeles Repertory Theatre. It was written by Karen Hensel and Elena Kent, but all four actresses also received credit for creating their own character in the collaborative process: Patti Johns, Sylvia Meredith, Elizabeth Lloyd-Shaw and Laura Toffenetti.
Like “Quilters,” it celebrates the contribution of women to the opening up of the American wilderness.
The Studio Theatre’s production is directed by Marianne McLaughlin. The cast includes Jean Hardie, Kashana Cox, Belinda Geren, Deborah Anderson-Phillips and David Gigler.
The show opens Friday and continues March 7-8, 13-15, 20-23 and 27-29. All shows are at 8 p.m. except the March 23 Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.
All seats are $8, available by calling 325-2507. The Firth Chew Studio Theatre is in the basement of the Spokane Civic Theatre, 1020 N. Howard.
‘Guys and Dolls’
The Woodland Theatre in Kettle Falls is opening one of the most enjoyable musicals of all time, Frank Loesser’s “Guys and Dolls,” on Friday.
This community theater, which stages several remarkably lavish and high-quality productions every year, will do 11 performances of this fable of Broadway.
It’s based on Damon Runyon’s stories of gamblers, con artists and assorted Manhattan lowlifes. Loesser’s score includes such classic tunes as “Luck Be a Lady,” “Fugue for Tinhorns,” “A Bushel and a Peck” and “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.”
This production stars Kris Kittelson as Nathan Detroit, Jena Gruber as Miss Adelaide, Tom Schwartz as Sky Masterson, and Robyn Pruitt-Hamm as Miss Sarah Brown. The director is Cheri Freeman.
The show opens Friday and continues Saturday and Sunday and March 13-16 and 20-23. All shows are at 8 p.m. except Sunday matinees at 3 p.m.
Tickets are $6 in advance for opening night, and $8 in advance for subsequent performances, available at the Book Depot, Excell Foods Video Dept. and Happy’s Hallmark in Colville; the Kettle Falls Pharmacy in Kettle Falls; and Go West Bookstore in Chewelah. Tickets at the door are $10.
‘Cream of Wit’
Unexpected Productions of Spokane returns with another night of improvisational comedy and theater, “Cream of Wit,” at the Spokane Falls Community College Theatre, Building 5, at 10:30 p.m. Friday.
This group of nimble-witted performers makes up skits and sketches on the spot, based on audience suggestions. The results are almost always clever and sometimes inspired.
Tickets at the door are $6, or $5 with student I.D. Or call 747-7045 for reservations.
‘The Glass Menagerie’
The Whitworth College Theatre opens Tennessee Williams’ brilliant drama of loneliness and desperation, “The Glass Menagerie,” tonight.
The director is Ann Brueggemeier. The play runs tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
It will be presented on Stage II of the Cowles Memorial Auditorium at Whitworth. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for students with I.D., available by calling the Whitworth theater department at 466-3707.
‘Our Town’
Spokane Falls Community College presents Thornton Wilder’s classic, “Our Town,” beginning Friday.
This Pulitzer Prize-winning drama extracts the deepest truths from the lives of the simple citizens of Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire.
The show runs Friday, Saturday and March 13-15. All shows are at 8 p.m. except the March 13 show, which is at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $6, or $3 for students with I.D. and senior citizens, available at the door. The March 14 performance is a benefit for the SFCC Food Bank. Admission is the donation of two canned food items.
All performances are at SFCC Playhouse, Building 5, 3410 W. Fort George Wright Drive.
‘Arcadia’
Whitman College opens Tom Stoppard’s brilliant play, “Arcadia,” tonight in Walla Walla.
This tour de force of writing and theater swings back and forth in time between 1809 and 1990 as it touches upon topics as diverse as Lord Byron’s poetry, chaos theory, Fermat’s last theorem, English landscape gardening and love.
Performances are tonight, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, available by calling (509) 527-5180.
All performances are on the mainstage of Harper Joy Theatre on the Whitman campus in Walla Walla. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo