‘The Dresser’ kicks off Old Lyric season
“The Dresser,” a poignant drama about an actor and his dying career set in World War II era England, is the opening show for the Old Lyric Repertory Company’s 2008 season. The production opens Thursday, June 12, at the Caine Lyric Theatre, 28. W. Center Street, Logan. Curtain time is 7:30 p.m.
The Old Lyric Repertory Company is a production program based in the Department of Theatre at Utah State University and is a part of the Caine School of the Arts and the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
OLRC ticket information is available online (www.usu.edu/lyric under “Tickets and Passes”). Information is also available by calling the Caine Lyric Theatre box office, (435) 752-1500, or the Caine School of the Arts box office at USU, (435) 797-8022. The Caine Lyric Theatre’s box office is at 28 W. Center Street in Logan.
Ticket prices for OLRC productions vary based on seating, and discounts are available for youths, seniors and USU faculty, staff and students. For details, call the box offices or visit the OLRC Web site.
Director Jon Cranney said Ronald Harwood’s play is appealing because at the most basic level, it’s a human interest story about how the world is changing.
“It’s a play about the English theater during the time of the second World War,” Cranney said. “And it’s a play about an actor who would have wanted to be a giant in the theater, but time, circumstances and a changing world prevented that.”
The story follows Sir, a great actor who is struggling with mental instability and the pressures of a new world, and his dresser of 16 years, Norman. Norman plays the part of Sir’s personal assistant who is trying to hold Sir together.
At the heart of the play is the dynamic relationship between boss and employee, master and servant, friend and friend, confidant and confessor, Cranney said.
This particular production will bring something special to the Caine Lyric Theatre stage, as three generations of the Call family will be in the same show. OLRC founder W. Vosco Call is joined by his son Richard Call and grandson Richie Call in a rare partnering of performers.
“The chemistry and fluidity from the Calls should be electrifying to watch and is definitely an exciting instance in an already-storied OLRC progression,” said Colin Johnson, OLRC artistic director.
“The Dresser” was previously performed by the OLRC with Vosco Call as Sir, and Richie Call said it has been his dream since he was 10 years old to play Norman to Vosco’s Sir.
Cranney said Vosco Call is well suited to the part of Sir.
“In many ways, Vosco has done what this particular actor has done in his life,” Cranney said.
The show is both mystery and suspense. The show starts just before a performance of “King Lear,” with Nazi bombers overhead.
“Will the show happen?,” Cranney said. “Will Nazis bomb the theater? Will Sir be able to give a performance as King Lear? That’s all questionable on this particular night.”
“The Dresser” will also interest audiences because of its historical basis. The show is based on the playwright’s five-year experience as the dresser for the renowned Shakespearean actor, Sir Donald Wolfit.
Cranney said he thinks it can sometimes be difficult for actors to do shows about the theater because they know all the nuances of the business that audiences don’t, but “The Dresser” is particularly moving and something that both the audience and actors will enjoy.
Following its June 12 opening, “The Dresser” will have evening performances June 13-14, 26, 28, and July 17, 23, 31, beginning at 7:30 p.m. A matinee performance is June 28 at 2 p.m.