Come Back, Little Sheba, a domestic drama by American playwright William Inge, is scheduled for three matinee performances by The Autumn Players of Asheville Community Theatre (ACT): Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, in 35below at ACT; Sunday, March 30, in the Manheimer Room at UNC Asheville’s Reuter Center. Under the direction of RoseLynn Katz and in partnership with Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, this is the second of five productions of the 2013-14 season of the Readers Theatre Showcase. Curtain is at 2:30 pm. Tickets are $5 cash at the door.
Come Back, Little Sheba was first produced in New York in 1950. It earned a Tony Award for lead actress Shirley Booth, who later won an Academy Award for the movie that also starred Burt Lancaster. The play, praised as “a revolutionary treatment of the sexual stereotyping and cultural mores of the post-World War II era”, delves deep into the relationship of Doc and Lola who are trapped in a shotgun marriage that they manage to endure. However, when a sexy young boarder moves into their home, their pent-up frustrations explode.
RoseLynn Katz has directed several productions for The Autumn Players including: The Heiress, A Shayna Maidel,Beau Jest, The Price, Spoon River Anthology and Dear Abie: Jewish Immigrants Desperately Seeking Advice. She also wrote and currently performs The Devil Touched My Tongue: The World and Wit of Dorothy Parker and For You My Door Is Always Open: A Visit with Golda Meir as one-woman shows.
The Autumn Players is ACT’s volunteer outreach company consisting of almost 100 seasoned actors, directors, writers and event organizers dedicated to taking theater into the community. Since 1992, the company has provided entertainment, enrichment, and education for thousands of students, seniors, and in-betweens at venues within an hour or more from Asheville.
For more information or for a full schedule of the Readers Theatre Showcase series, please visit www.ashevilletheatre.org.