Pulitzer-winning play ’night, Mother presented in one-night benefit for scholarship
Release Date: 10/11/2007. Expired: 11/3/2007
Loneliness and hopelessness lead to a night of desperation when the Renaissance Players present the Pulitzer-winning play ‘night, Mother in a one-night-only benefit for its theatre scholarship fund Saturday, Nov. 3, at The Renaissance Center in Dickson.
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Tickets for the 7 p.m. show in the Performance Hall are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 55 and over and $7 for children under 13, with all proceeds going to the Mel Romine Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is presented annually to a graduating senior who has participated in the community theatre program at The Renaissance Center and plans to pursue an education in a theatre-related field. It is named for the late Mel Romine, who appeared in several community productions at The Renaissance Center before his death in 2004.
Due to mature subject matter, including frank discussions of suicide, the play is not recommended for children.
The Renaissance Players production of ‘night, Mother will feature Amy Scott as Jessie Cates and Tracy Nichols as her mother, Thelma. Scott, a Robertson County native, is managing director of the Renaissance Players and a veteran actor and director of 50 productions at The Renaissance Center. Ashland City resident Nichols, an instructor of theatre and public speaking at Austin Peay State University, has been working in theatre for more than 20 years.
The show is directed by Eddie Nichols, who is helming his first show at The Renaissance Center. A member of the center’s Toy Shop, Nichols received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Arts from Austin Peay State University where he appeared in productions of Buried Child, MacBeth and As You Like It, while directing Bug Man’s Coming. Nichols also appeared on stage in the Renaissance Players 2005 production of Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus.
Aaron B. Coleman, a member of the Renaissance Repertory Theatre Company, is assistant director for the show. Coleman graduated from Cleveland State University in 2004 with a degree in Theatre. Since then he has appeared onstage with The Theater at Monmouth (Maine), Lexington Children's Theatre (Ky.), Actors' Summit (Ohio), Cleveland Shakespeare Festival and also has toured nationally with The Hampstead Stage Company out of New Hampshire. He is appearing in The Renaissance Center’s Mind Enriching Theatre series production of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Written by Marsha Norman, ‘night, Mother won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Critics lauded the play for its emotional honesty and realistic dialogue in an unflinching depiction of a mother and daughter in crisis.
In a small house on an isolated country road, Jessie and Thelma prepare for another evening of the familiar routine of their lives together. Jessie's father is dead; her loveless marriage ended in divorce; her absent son is a petty thief and ne'er-do-well; her last job didn't work out; she’s suffered from seizures for years; and, in general, her life is stale and unprofitable. As the play begins Jessie asks for her father's service revolver and calmly announces that she intends to kill herself before morning.
At first her mother refuses to take her seriously, but as Jessie sets about tidying the house and making lists of things to be looked after, Thelma’s sense of desperate helplessness begins to build, leading her to make a series of revelations about Jessie’s life with the hope of giving her daughter some understanding that will lead her to change her mind.
The play builds tension as the characters run the emotional gamut from disbelief, anger, desperation, helplessness and acceptance until the shocking ending.
‘night, Mother opened on Broadway in 1983 and ran for a year with Kathy Bates (Oscar winner for Misery) as Jessie and Anne Pitoniak (making her Broadway debut a day after her 60th birthday) as Thelma. It earned four Tony Award nominations, including Best Play and Best Actress nods for both women.
A 2004 revival ran for 65 shows featuring Edie Falco (three-time Emmy winner as Carmela on The Sopranos) and Brenda Blethyn (in her Broadway debut at age 58).
Norman adapted her own play into a screenplay for a 1986 movie starring Sissy Spacek (Oscar winner for Coal Miner’s Daughter) and Anne Bancroft (Oscar winner for The Miracle Worker), earning a Golden Globe nomination for Bancroft.
A Louisville, Ky., native, Norman is the daughter of religious fundamentalists who kept her isolated from other children and would not allow her to watch television or movies. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from Agnes Scott College in Georgia and a Master of Arts from the University of Louisville, Norman worked briefly with gifted and emotionally disturbed children at the Kentucky Central State Hospital.
A faculty member at The Juilliard School in New York since 1994, Norman is a playwright, screenwriter, television writer and novelist who serves as vice president of the Dramatists Guild of America. In addition to ‘night, Mother, she wrote the book and lyrics for Broadway productions of The Secret Garden (winning a Tony for Best Book) and The Red Shoes, and the libretto for The Color Purple. Her television writing credits include a pair of 2007 episodes of Law and Order: Criminal Intent.
For more information on the Renaissance Players one-night-only production of ‘night, Mother or the Mel Romine Memorial Scholarship, call (615) 740-5600 or visit The Renaissance Center’s website at www.rcenter.org. To purchase tickets, call (615) 740-5601.
The Renaissance Center is a fine arts education and performing arts center at 855 Highway 46 South in Dickson, just 35 miles west of Nashville on Interstate 40 at exit 172.
Visit the Theatre page for more about community and professional theatre.
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