Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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Our Town at CFRT by JANICE BURTON Grover’s Corners is the fictional town that Our Town, a play by Thorton Wilder, revolves around. The production of Our Town is this season’s classic pro- duction, and will run from March 25 to April 2 at the Seabrook Auditorium. The play, which is moved along by a narrator known as the Stage Manager, brings an iconic American actor to town to fill that role. The name William Christopher may not be immediately recognized, but one look at his face or a first hearing of his voice and you are immediately flashed back to his days on one of the nation’s longest running and most beloved televi- sion shows — M.A.S.H. Christopher, who has a long list of television and theatre credits to his name, played the loveable priest Father Mulcahy. This is Christopher’s first visit to the area, and he’s hoping to see as much of it as he can while not in rehearsals. “My wife, Barbara, and I went out and walked on the river walk yesterday in spite of the rain,” said Christopher during a recent interview. “It was fun — walking on the boardwalk that leads from Clark Park. My wife is really fasci- nated with her iPhone. It has an app for birds, so we started identifying North Carolina birds. We’re settling in like the natives.” Christopher is excited to work with the volunteers at the CFRT. “I’ve only just met the cast, but they are a wonderful group of people. It’s great to be here,” he said “I am really impressed with the theatre, and also with Bo Thorp who has a tremendous background with theater.” Christopher is selective in the jobs he takes and was excited to revisit Our Town during his visit to the CFRT. “It’s a wonderful play, a beautiful play,” he noted. “The language is like po- etry. It says wonderful things about the human condition. It’s Thorton Wilder’s famous work. I have done it before. Even though I did it in upstate New York some years ago, I really did have to work on my lines again — I have been away from it for a long time. But, things are beginning to shape up.” Christopher, who has an eclectic taste in literature (He reads the Homer in Styles of Yesterday & Today Celebrating 25 Years of American Girl Hosted by The Child Advocacy Center of Fayetteville To benefit Child Abuse Prevention & Intervention Programs ro Saturday, March 26, 2011 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p m.7 p.m 26, 20 Sunday, March 27, 2011 3 p.m. 20 p.m. Location tion Crown Center Ballroom 1960 Coliseum Drive • Fayetteville, NC 28306 enter Ballroom tte lle, NC 28306 Tickets: $35 VIP Tickets: $59 (Limited quantity available) Tickets d quantity For more information, visit www.childadvocacycenter.com or call (910) 486-9700 ion, e Special thank you to our generous sponsors: Corporate Benefactors: Gold Sponsor: Williams Printing BB&T Timothy D. Edwards, Attorney At Law Short Stop CenturyLink Systel Business Equipment Silver Sponsors: Bank of America Caviness & Cates Communities Once Upon A Child TLC Auto Wash & Fast Lube Up & Coming Weekly Recommended for children 6 and up American Girl Fashion Show is licensed from American Girl Programs, Inc. All American Girl trademarks, names, and characters are trademarks of American Girl, LLC, used under license. All rights reserved. 14 UCW MARCH 16-22, 2011 Pink Sponsors: Centerplate Catering Crown Trophy CTS Cleaning Systems Inc. Dairy Queen Highland Pediatric Dental LanguageMasters Speech Pathology New Century Bank Pilates of Fayetteville Todd Rivenbark & Puryear, PLLC Doll Salon Sponsors: Kim Pryzgoda, DDS Massey Hill Drug Company 27, 2011 Greek), understands the play from Wilder’s perspective. “At the time he wrote the play, Wilder thought the theater was missing the mark,” explained Christopher. “He didn’t think it was being true to the theatrical experience. He wanted to create the experience in the minds of his audience.” His answer: Our Town. The play is performed on a bare stage. The Stage Manager sets the stage for each scene by moving furniture around. There is no pretense that it is not a play, as the Stage Manager addresses the audience throughout the performance. “There is no delusion about the fact that this is a play. The Stage Manager explains what they are trying to show you,” Christopher continued. “And even after all of these years, what they are trying to show us still applies today. This is still a vibrant play and it brings a heightened theatrical experience.” Christopher is comfortable in the role of the Stage Manager. His first job in theatre following his graduation from college was as a stage manager in New Hampshire’s oldest theatre. “I was told right off that I would be able to work on stage because they needed me as an actor as well,” he said. “I wasn’t particularly good as a stage manager, I was much better as an actor. But I look back on that as a wonderful experience and New Hampshire was lovely.” While Christopher and the CFRT staff hope people come to see Our Town, they know many may come to see Christopher. His role on M.A.S.H. has made him an iconic figure in American pop culture, although Christopher doesn’t quite see that way. “M.A.S.H. was a long stint for a television experience,” he said, referring to its 11-year run. “But that was a long time ago, people may recognize the voice, but I’ve aged some since my television days. We’ve been to the grocery store a couple of times and no one recognized me.” It is that humility that endeared him to Americans during his M.A.S.H. days, and that follows him into this play. “In the theatre, you get to know each over very well,” he said. “It’s quite a social experience. The cast here may have been curious about me before I ar- rived, but now I’m here and we’re all working together. We’re a team. Everybody contributes, and I’m just one part of that team. I like the other members of the team very much. It’s a wonderful treat for me to come and work with people who are so devoted to the theatre.” Christopher also finds pleasure in the history of the community. “I feel very comfortable with the military because of M.A.S.H. In that show we tried to say something about the awfulness of war, but tempered that with the great respect for the military for those who are forced to put themselves in harm’s way. Those people are very important to us,” he said. While he hasn’t had a chance to make it to Fort Bragg yet, he hopes to have some interaction with the military community. He also hopes to further acquaint himself with the history of the city. “After our walk at the river, we drove over to the old armory,” he said. “I’ve learned a little about this historic city, but would like to learn more.” If you would like the chance to hear Christopher discuss the play you can do so when he takes part in an informal discussion with the cast of Our Town after the March 27 matinee. Tickets range in price from $8 to $20, and can be purchased at the CFRT Box Office by calling 323- 4233 or online by visiting www.cfrt.org. JANICE BURTON , Associate Publisher. COMMENTS? Editor@ upandcomingweekly.com WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM