Carranor Should Stay Longer

"DRINKING ALONE" OFFERS LAUGHS AND TEARS

Comedy by Canada's most prolific playwright comes to Stage 3

SONORA, Calif. (September 13, 2002) - If your wealthy, judgmental father hasn't seen you in five years, you might want to impress him. That's Joe Todd's reason for hiring a woman for the evening to pose as his fiancee. It seems like such a simple way for Joe to prove to his family that his life isn't as empty and pointless as they think it is. The way Joe's idea doesn't work is what makes "Drinking Alone" a most entertaining play.

"Drinking Alone," opening September 27 at Stage 3 in Sonora, quickly moves in unexpected and hilarious directions. Canada's most popular playwright, Norm Foster, pulls the theatrical rug out from under our expectations. He gives us a superbly written play about the need to love and be loved. He does it in such a clever way that we aren't sure whether the tears we are wiping from our eyes are from laughter or not.

Actor Tom Silvers who won audience acclaim at Stage 3 as Frog in "Catfish Moon" last spring, plays Joe, the ultimate ordinary guy who deals with an extraordinary predicament. Silvers, who has performed off-Broadway in New York and in the Bay Area, has a gift for comedy, even when he is clearly the straight man in this production.

Stage 3 favorite Maryann Curmi, who played the controlling daughter Shelby in the recent Stage 3 hit "A Short Stay at Carranor," exercises her theatrical versatility not only as Renee, the not-quite suitable fiancee for the evening but she also directs the production. Renee is a delightful character, full of surprises for Joe and for the audience. Curmi has appeared in numerous Stage 3 productions including "Mere Mortals," "Scotland Road," and "Angry Housewives," and recently directed "Wicked Dick Three Eyes" for the California History Theatre. She directed Stage 3's hit comedy, "A Show of her Own" last fall, and is Director of the Total Teen Theatre summer program for youth.

The multi-talented Lillian McLeod plays Joe's cynical younger sister Carrie. Known throughout the region as a gifted vocalist, she is also the veteran of many theatrical productions. She recently played the manipulative Widow Corney in the Sierra Repertory production of "Oliver!". A sampling of her Stage 3 credits include"All Grown Up", "Wit", "Women of the Bear", "The Quick Change Room" and "Crows Landing Gently, Gently".

Diane Wright plays Joe's new mother-in-law Phyllis. She has appeared in "My Fair Lady"and "Smoke on the Mountain for Mountain Actors' Conservatory. Not only a talented actress, she is an instructor in the Computer Science Dept. at Columbia College.

Vladimir Popovac makes his first stage appearance as Ivan, Joe's overbearing father,. Vladimir is a mason by trade who holds a Masters degree in English Literature and is a frequent contributor to Fine Homebuilding magazine.

"Drinking Alone" will run at Stage 3 from September 27 through October 27. Performances are on an expanding schedule. First week: Fri. and Sat., Sept 27 & 28. Second week: Thurs., Fri., Sat., Oct 3,4,5. Beginning Oct. 10 the show will run Thurs. through Sun. Curtain times are 7 pm, Thursday, 8 pm Friday and Saturday and 2 pm Sunday. Ticket prices are $10 Thursday, $14 Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Senior Sundays are $10. Students always $8. Call 209-536-1778 for reservations and information.

The theatre is located in the Arts Center in Downtown Sonora at 208 South Green Street, one block southwest of the Highway 49 stoplight at Washington and Stockton streets.

At its founding in 1996, Stage 3 Theatre established a niche in the thriving theater community of Sonora as "the adventurous theater company" by producing primarily new works. The non-profit professional theatre company has developed an audience of theatergoers throughout the region, earning consistently high reviews for its choice of material, as well as for the productions themselves.