Article by Marcia Darnell
Drama – July 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
After a year on the job as creative director of the Creede Repertory Theatre, Maurice LaMee is feeling confident.
“I’m starting to think I’m beginning to have an idea of what’s going on,” he says. “The learning curve was steep the first year.”
This year’s schedule is “really insane,” according to LaMee, comprised of 15 actors doing more performances this year than ever in CRT’s history. The season opened on June 6 with “The Philadelphia Story.”
“It’s the maturation process of an incredible woman with some major flaws,” says LaMee. Then came the first musical of the year, “The Fantasticks,” which just closed in New York after 42 years — the longest running musical in the world. Described as a “bittersweet comedy,” it opened June 13.
Next up is “Rumors,” a Neil Simon farce. Beginning June 27, the story involves a group of friends invited to a party who arrive to find a disaster and gamely try to cover for their host.
LaMee will direct “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” opening July 19. It’s considered Eugene O’Neill’s best play and wasn’t produced until after his death.
Another challenging production will be “The Memory of Water,” by Shelagh Stephenson. This intense story portrays three sisters who get together — and get drunk — the night before their mother’s funeral. It opens July 27.
A special play, “A Mom’s Life,’ will have four shows only. Written by Kathryn Grody, it’s about a day in the life of a mother with two young sons. It opens Aug. 27.
(Grody’s husband, Mandy Patinkin, gave a benefit concert for CRT in February in Dallas. The performance and related events raised $60,000 — and lots of attention — for the theater.)
“Staying Married & Life Before the Crisis … Something is Lurking” opens Aug. 19. It’s really two one-act plays about marriage, midlife, and love. It will have just five performances.
Creede author Pam Houston is behind “Sighthound,” adapted from her latest book. It’s about the life of a woman as told by her husband, her friend, her veterinarian, and her two dogs. It opens Sept. 5 and kicks off CRT’s fall season. The next autumn play is “A Beautiful Country,” by Charlie Oates. It’s the true story of an American soldier’s escape from occupied Italy during WWII. “It’s less a war story than a story about like minds,” says LaMee. Opening Sept. 7, it’s never been produced before.
The season wraps up with two children’s plays, “Pecos Bill and the Ghost Stampede” by Eric Coble and “Under Milk Wood,” by Dylan Thomas. These will tour in the region, along with some of the other productions.
As always, CRT will also offer other forms of entertainment this year, including the Cabaret on Aug. 11. Bluegrass musician Peter Rowan will perform July 29, and Brass and Bagpipes will take the stage July 15. More musicians will be slated, and several art shows will be featured in the theater’s gallery.
Plays rotate throughout the season. For show times and ticket info call Creede Repertory Theatre at 719-658-2540, or check www.creederep.com for a complete schedule.
Marcia Darnell works too much and sees too few plays in the San Luis Valley.