Playwright John Maxwell has finally decided to come home to visit his family after several years away. He has been working on a new play, one that he hopes they will like.
In fact, he has a very important question to ask his parents and his little sister. It is a question to which he is not quite sure how they will respond.
However, he plans to get their permission before going ahead with the production. After all, they should be the best judges of this particular play because it is about them.
Murrells Inlet Community Theatre (MICT) will present "Cocktail Hour," a comedy by A.R. Gurney starting this week. Opening Thursday, shows will be at 8 p.m. from March 27 to 29 and from April 3 to 5, with two Sunday matinee performances at 2 p.m. on March 30 and April 6.
Tickets are $10 and may be reserved by calling 651-4152 or by visiting Sun Video in Murrells Inlet. Group rates are available for 15 or more people. Seating is limited. Doors open one hour before show time.
Community theater veteran Doris Hudson is directing this play with a cast of only four characters. It is her debut production with MICT.
She has directed plays for the Theatre of the Republic, the Grand Strand Players and the New Works Group, as well as community theater productions in Wytheville, Va. Hudson taught dramatic arts for many years at the high school level.
"I have been doing this all my life," Hudson said. "I always look forward to opening night."
She adds that she enjoys plays by Gurney and she feels that the audience will especially relate to this one.
"I think they will like seeing people they know on stage and there will be a lot of recognition in the audience toward the characters," Hudson said. "They will see these characters, nudge each other, and say, 'I know someone like that.'"
Working alongside her is Producer Nancy Kolman; Assistant Director Rita Walsh; Stage Manager Juli McGrath; Set Designer Catherine Cirillo; Bunny Zwers on costumes; Carlene Bochino on props; Carl Schiller and Bob Douglas on stage crew and set construction; and Debby Walters Bolynn on make-up.
The cast, which she says works very well together, is Chip Smith as John; David Mooney as Bradley (John's father); Pat Doherty as Ann (John's mother); and Traci Barbati as Nina (John's sister).
Smith has acted in six other plays with MICT, including "Plaza Suite," "Night of January 16th," and "Catfish Moon." He says "Cocktail Hour" has been a challenge because of the small cast.
"With a cast of only four people, we are pretty much on the stage the whole time, so there is a lot of dialogue and a lot of back-and-forth," Smith said. "There are also a lot of different emotions that have to be evoked."
He says that this is a very interesting play.
"In the family, everyone has their own viewpoint and their own reasons for either wanting John's play to happen or not," Smith said. "It is funny, but there is a lot of conflict between the characters and a lot of things from John's childhood that come up."
He suggests that anyone who is interested in community theatre get involved.
"It is the most fun thing you can do, whether you are doing the lights, the costumes, the sets, or even being in the play," Smith said. "You meet this great group of people who come together like a family for the length of time you do the production, and it is just great fun."
Mooney, another veteran of community theater, says his character, Bradley, is a typical W.A.S.P. man from upstate New York -- the type of character he enjoys playing.
"He is very taken with himself," Mooney said. "He has had success in life and he has done what he wants."
Bradley has another son named Jigger, who is not seen in the play, but is referred to many times. Based on his positive comments about his older son, it is clear that Bradley favors Jigger over John.
It is Bradley who John most wants to impress with his play about their family, but his father will have nothing to do with it.
"He doesn't want this unless he can change it," Mooney said. "Bradley really wants the story told the way he wants it told."
Pat Doherty, who plays Ann, has appeared in only one other play with MICT, "California Suite." She credits the Starshine performance arts training course at Coastal Carolina University's Waccamaw Higher Education Center in Litchfield -- of which she is a member -- for giving her the courage to act in a play.
"I'm loving this," Doherty said. "If it were not for Starshine, I would not even be on the stage. We had never held a mic before, we had never done anything, so I think that class has given me the confidence to do things like this."
She says Ann is desperately trying to keep this family together, "or to at least have some peace and harmony among the other members."
"That seems to be her mission, and she is always happy when she's is surrounded by her family," Doherty said. "But, now that is all changing because people are moving away and she is dealing with those changes in her life."
Traci Barbati, who plays the part of Nina, John's younger sister, has performed in nine other MICT productions, including "Inlet Follies," "Proof," "Killjoy" and "Old Wine in a New Bottle."
She says Nina is upset because her role in John's play is such a minor one, what he calls a "supporting role."
"Nina is the rather spoiled only daughter," Barbati said. "She's been the one who's been around home, and never strayed away from the family unit. She takes care of her mother and father, but she feels trapped."
Barbati urges anyone who enjoys a good community theater performance to come out to see "Cocktail Hour" at the Murrells Inlet Community Center.
"This family puts the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional,'" Barbati said. "It is a very intelligent and well-written play that is dialogue-driven. There is not a lot of 'action,' but it is very thought-provoking and it has some very funny moments."
The theater is located at 4450 Murrells Inlet Rd., accessible from U.S. Highway 17 Bypass (turn beside the Murrells Inlet Post Office, then right onto Murrells Inlet Road) or U.S. 17 Business (turn beside Lee's Inlet Kitchen and drive one block to the theater).
For more information, visit www.mictheatre.com.