Golf with Alan Shepard
by Carter W. Lewis
It doesn't matter if you don't know a putter from a petunia, when Stage 3 Theatre Company takes us out to the links with four crafty old codgers in Carter W. Lewis' "Golf with Alan Shepard", you are in for eighteen holes of hilarity and humanity.
The action follows a grumpy-but-loveable troupe of senior citizens as they take to the fairways for their weekly game. And a more delightful and unpredictable bunch would be hard to find.
Billed as a comic round of golf with cosmic implications, Theater Mirror describes the play as having "quips, comedy … and character down to their very bones" with "more one-liners than a Neil Simon triple bill" adds The Philadelphia weekly.
But the laughter is only the beginning. Little do these duffers know when they tee up their first shot, the twists and turns the game will take on the most extraordinary day of their lives. Little by little the audience is drawn into the hearts of these men, their hopes, fears, regrets and dreams.
The title refers to a real incident where astronaut Alan Shepard smuggled golf gear onto a spacecraft and was seen on national television hitting golf balls on the moon.
Says Artistic Director Don Bilotti, "I've had this play in my back pocket for years, just waiting for the right time and place to present it. Carter Lewis is such a splendid talent. He has this uncanny talent for having us in tears of laughter one moment and the next moment just in tears. This is also a difficult play to cast but we've found the perfect lineup. "
This fearsome foursome is packed with talent. Doug Scott plays Griff, delightfully cantankerous and overbearing. "On Tuesday I go to the race track and yell short jokes at the jockeys and on Sunday I win at golf", he quips. Seth Turoonjian is Milt, Griff's mild-mannered friend who refuses to play the 16th hole. Ron Lane plays the defrocked priest who thinks he'll find God on the golf course. Don Pierazzi portrays Ned who croons to his lost wife in between duck calls and sinking impossible putts.
Russ Holcomb is the voice of the all-seeing, all-knowing Microphone and Steve Billot makes a cameo appearance as a mysterious visitor. Giving away the visitor's identity would spoil the surprise. Just say it's out of this world.
Award-winning playwright Carter W. Lewis is Playwright-in-Residence at Washington University. His works have been performed at major venues across the country. A few of his published works include "Soft Click of the Switch", "Picasso Does My Maps" and "American Storm".
Lighting Design is by Matthew Leamy and Costume Design by Dena Mathias. Denny Anderson and Chris Sutherst provide the surreal set design.
This production is partially made possible by a generous sponsorship from Yosemite Title.