Sundays at Two
Matinee Readers Theatre

THE DEBUTANTE BALL a comedy/drama by Beth Henley the Hawaii Premiere

PERFORMANCES: Sundays September 9-16-23, 2001 Directed by Vanita Rae Smith This stunning comic drama, set in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, begins the morning of Teddy Parker's debutante ball, that archetypal phenomenon in Southern culture known as a maiden's "coming out." Teddy's mother, the beautiful and formidable Jen Parker Turner, has willed this event into being. Ostracized from polite society ever since she was accused and---under much speculation and gossip---acquitted of the murder of her wealthy husband, Jen has been looking to Teddy's coming-out gala to revive her and her family's reputation. As the play unfolds, various secrets emerge: an unwanted pregnancy, an illicit romance, self-mutilation, dishonesty and murder. Polite facades crumble and ugly truths twist and polka across the ballroom floor. This is a play about the price of secrets and the power that love and lovelessness hold over our lives. REVIEWS

REDWOOD CURTAIN a drama   by Lanford Wilson Hawaii Premiere

PERFORMANCES: November 18-25 and December 2, 2001 Directed by Vanita Rae Smith A 17-year old Viet-namese-American girl, Geri, raised by wealthy adoptive parents in the United States, journeys into the towering Redwood forests of Northern California in search of the natural father she lost after the Vietnam War. Geri has taken time out from a rigorous touring schedule as a piano prodigy to stay on her Aunt Geneva's Redwood plantation. She's been coming for years, but recently she's become obsessed with approaching the homeless Vietnam veterans who retreated to the forests because they couldn't cope with society after returning from the war. One such veteran is told everything she knows about her nameless natural father. Geri feels a deep need to know her ancestral history and has been studying the mysticism of the East. Finally Geri persuades her auntie to come with her and together they meet with the veteran, Lyman where the shocking and moving truth of Geri's heritage comes to light. REVIEWS

THE QUEEN OF BINGO a comedy by Jeanne Michels & Phyllis Murphy Premiere

PERFORMANCES: CANCELLED Directed by Vanita Rae Smith Where can two sisters on the other side of 50, who want to add a little zest, fun and excitement to their lives, find at Bingo? On any Bingo night at St. Joseph's you can find Father Mac, Lonnie and Cindy Conklin, Marge Meranski, Coach Anderson, and the many offbeat, colorful regulars we meet through the eyes of Sis and Babe. They dish the dirt, giggle like schoolgirls and share old memories. Sis and Babe are sisters and best friends. They've been coming to play Bingo together for years because they love it. Sis is a good loser who just loves to play. Babe is a player who has always got to win. Sis is naturally fit and trim. Babe is naturally overweight and always fighting the battle of the bulge. Sis is content in her widow-hood, while Babe is still looking for love. They compliment each other in ways only sisters can and they drive each other crazy in that same sisterly fashion. On this particular night, Babe and Sis share something new as they each confess a secret and find a special kind of redemption. Cast includes 1 man and 2 women.

IF WE ARE WOMEN a Drama by Joanna McClelland A Hawaii Premiere

PERFORMANCES: Sundays 12-19-26 May 2002 Directed by Vanita Rae Smith Two grandmothers, a daughter, and a granddaughter gather on the deck of a beach house in Connecticut. One grandmother has flown, for the first time, from the Canadian prairie. She is an illiterate woman whose parents were homesteading pioneers. "If only I had gotten my eight grade diploma". Her daughter is a novelist whose lover died recently. "If only I had a college degree". The second grandmother has driven up from Pennsylvania. She is an agnostic Jewish intellectual with a Master's degree. "If only I had gone to Oxford". The granddaughter is 18 and is slated to go to Yale in the autumn. After staying out all night with a young man, she arrives on the scene to announce a reversal of plans. The three older women discuss their pasts and presents poetically, poignantly and humorously as they attempt to pass down the wisdom of their years. When the granddaughter disregards all that she hears, the prairie grandmother observes that "every time a kid is born, we start from zero." Cast includes 4 women.