The Drawer Boy

by Michael Healey
August 24 – September 9, 2012
Directed by Mark Woolett

As both counterpoise and catalyst, a young idealistic actor arrives into the lives of two old farmers. He is part of a theatrical group that is creating a piece of theater based on the lives of the people in this rural community. This “farm play” turns out to be much more powerful, however, than any of them could have imagined and the desperate lives of those two farmers are poignantly and permanently transformed.

Papa’s Blues

by Javon Johnson
October 12 – October 28, 2012
Directed by Rhonda Wilson

An African-American drama about a grandfather who lost his life during the civil rights protest era and whose descendants are struggling with reconciling continued involvement in that movement with the demands of their own personal domestic situations.

Come Back Little Sheba

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHAT: Come Back, Little Sheba; written by William Inge, directed by Jerry Rose

WHEN: November 30-December 16, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 2pm; special preview performance Thursday, November 29, at 8pm to benefit Bread of the Mighty Food Bank

WHERE: The Acrosstown Repertory Theater, 619 South Main Street, Gainesville, FL 32601

COST: $12; students, educators, veterans and seniors $10– tickets available at Coffee Culture, at the door or by calling 505-0868

Alcohol, sexual exploits, and a lament for what has been lost form the subject matter of this long-time favorite.

Acrosstown Repertory Theater, 619 S. Main, Gainesville, Florida, presents Come Back Little Sheba, an inspiring drama of loss and redemption by William Inge, directed by Jerry Rose. Paula Patterson plays Lola Delaney, the original “desperate housewife” (which won Shirley Booth an Oscar for Best Actress), and Mark Kirby plays “Doc,” her long-suffering  husband. Elle Grant, Ethan Perry and Steve Bates play Marie, Turk and Bruce, young people who display the exuberant love experience that Doc and Lola think they have lost.  Cristina Palaccio, Robert Jammer and Keith Berg comprise the cast of supporting actors who weave their way in and through this compelling domestic drama. “Little Sheba” refers to a dog that had been lost years ago by Lola and Doc, and Lola’s plaintive cries for her to come back are symbolic of the yearning of people for “things remembered” and the ultimate solution to their misery when they learn to live in the “here and now.”

The show opens at the theater at 619 S. Main on Friday November 30 at 8 p.m. and continues on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm through December 16. Tickets are $12 ($10 for students, seniors +55, military and educators) and may be purchased at either Coffee Culture location in Gainesville or at the door as available 30 minutes before each show.  Also tickets may be reserved for pick up at the theater up to 15 minutes before each show at 352-505-0868.

There will be a special preview showing of Come Back, Little Sheba at 8 P.M. on Thursday, November 29, as a benefit for the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank, an agency that works in the holiday season and throughout the year to serve the needs of people suffering from food insecurity.

For any additional information about the show, please call director Jerry Rose at 352-505-0868.

The Star Spangled Girl

by Neil Simon
January 18 – February 3, 2013
Directed by Terry Beauchamp

A comedy in which two young men who publish a radical newspaper encounter and fall madly and ridiculously in love with a flag-waving super patriot Olympic swimmer who moves next door to them.

Tambourines to Glory

by Langston Hughes
March 15 – March 31, 2013
Directed by Carol Velasquez Richardson
Auditions: January 20-21

An African-American gospel musical, as two poverty-stricken women form a “church” to provide income for themselves and are aided by a “devil” who supplies them with dubious money-making schemes.

Outburst

May 3 – May 19, 2013
written and directed by Leroy Clark
Auditions: March 3-4

A high school teacher in Wichita KS accidentally “outs” himself as gay while discussing the Holocaust with his class, setting off a tumultuous round of homophobia in this hub of fundamentalism, as the teach and his partner and other associates vacillate between fighting to retain his job or acquiescence in his dismissal.

The Perfect Party

by A.R. Gurney
June 14 – June 30, 2013
Directed by Jerry Rose
Auditions: April 7-8

A comedy/farce in which a perfection-obsessed professor strives to stage an ultimately lavish party with “all segments of American society” represented and a woman reporter from a “major New York newspaper” promises to write the “perfect review” but only if the party-giver will make it newsworthy by providing some “danger” therein. The professor complies.