ALL ABOARD FOR THE OLRC’s 2003 SEASON FINAL STOP
The Old Lyric Repertory Company’s 2003 summer comes to a close with the run of production number five, “The Last Train to Nibroc” by Arlene Hutton. The romantic comedy marks the end of the season Aug. 6^9 at the Caine Lyric Theatre in downtown Logan (28 W. Center).
Ticket information is available by calling the Smith Spectrum Ticket Office at (435) 797-0305. Tickets are also available on the Web at www.usu.edu/lyric. The Caine Lyric box office is open one hour prior to curtain on performance nights and noon to 8 p.m. Saturdays. Tickets purchased at the theatre box office are for that date’s performance only. For general inquiries call (435) 797-1500.
Set in the American South during WWII, the play includes three scenes in which Raleigh, a sincere young man with a sly sense of humor, and May, a feisty, altruistic young woman, seem to be at cross purposes but are actually moving toward one another. On a train from Los Angeles to Corbin, Ky., May thinks she and Raleigh are strangers, even though they come from the same small Kentucky area.
May’s father is a landowner, while Raleigh’s is a sharecropper. May also wants to become a missionary and is disappointed by every man she meets. Raleigh is good-humored and
indulgent, with no ties to classifications of society. The tale is about a hesitant, chaste and improbable romance that forms over three separate meetings.
The added play is a change from the normal four productions of the OLRC season, but the company wanted to give something a little extra this summer, said co-director Colin Johnson. Besides the number change, “The Last Train to Nibroc” also adds a twist to visiting actor Amy Tribbey’s role in the company.
“When Amy was hired and joined the company this summer, it was a deciding factor to stage this production,” Johnson said. “Amy has performed ‘The Last Train to Nibroc‚ a number of times, with great success.”
That’s not all — in addition to her acting experience with the piece as the main character, Tribbey is teaming with Johnson (who is also the director of this summer’s “Forever Plaid”) as a co-director for the OLRC production.
“As an actress performing in a two-person show I anticipate a certain amount of difficulty in directing while also on stage,” Tribbey said. “But this is ‘Nibroc’‚ I know this show intimately, and delight in it — it’s one of the best roles I have had the opportunity and great fortune to play. I imagine we may get tied up at times during rehearsal, as I will most likely have to stop the action entirely in order to give a note — I won’t have the ability to watch and take notes at the same time. I expect this may try Mr. Zeller’s patience, but I know him to be a very generous and gracious actor, so I am sure he will forge on. He knows what he’s in for stepping into this role, as I have done it before without him, that certainly being one of the positives. I am so looking forward to doing this show with him, and bringing a whole new life to it. Patrick is going to be
wonderful in this role.”
Tribbey’s acting partner in the two-character piece, Patrick Zeller, said he is pleased to be working with OLRC this summer. This production of “Nibroc” marks his first appearance west of the Mississippi. His recent stage credits include Andrew in “I Hate Hamlet” at the Penobscot Theatre/Maine Shakespeare Festival in Bangor, Maine, and Evan in “As Bees in Honey Drown” with the Stoneham Theatre Company in Boston, Mass.
Zeller received a bachelor of fine arts degree in acting from Emerson College and has continued his classical training with Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, Mass. Commercial credits include spots with Nike and Sam Adams. Other recent projects include the feature film “A Totally Minor Motion Picture” with Jet Pack Productions and a year-long documentary piece exploring the rising culture of fear in America with the Present Tense Theater Project. Zeller resides in New York City where he continues to pursue his career in theatre, television and film.
Tribbey said she hopes audience members who see “Nibroc” will see themselves in the character of Raleigh and May.
“I so adore this show and am very happy to be doing it in Logan,” she said. “In the past and in every venue people love this play — the characters are so charming and funny and quirky and lovely.”
“The Last Train to Nibroc” has been staged by regional theatre groups across the country, with the best-known productions taking place at the 78th S. Theatre Lab and the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre in New York during 1999. Hutton’s play was a finalist for the Francesca’s Primus Prize.