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Abby Huston and Lewis Wheeler star in Arlene Hutton’s “Last Train to Nibroc,” opening Friday at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater. |
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Southern comfort during WW II
By Melora B. North
Banner Staff
Director-actor Stephen Russell has been dancing a two-step lately. Not only is he directing the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater spring production of “Last Train to Nibroc” but he’s also the director of “Around the World in 80 Days,” currently on the boards at the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans. (See review in this issue.)
Busy, but hardly daunted, Russell is a master at multi-tasking and has taken on “Nibroc” with great enthusiasm and passion.
“This play is a beautiful, eloquent valentine,” says Russell. “It’s intelligent with a lot of heart. Overall the tone is hopeful. It’s a nice spring piece. It feels like an awakening.”
With but two cast members and three scenes, this play takes place in the early 1940s as WW II marches forward, the country cheering the boys on, some of whom are disappointed not to be a part of the action. One such young man is aspiring writer Raleigh (Lewis Wheeler), who has just been discharged from flight school due to a medical problem. He is broken up over the slight; his heart had been set on becoming a flyer in the air corps. To the rescue is missionary wannabe May (Abby Huston) whom he meets on a train in December of 1940 as they head east.
One consolation on this particular ride is the fact that in the storage compartment rests the bodies of both F. Scott Fitzgerald and Nathaniel West, his alcoholic, literary gurus. An added bonus is the spark that seems to be igniting between the two young people who quickly discover they are both from the same area in Kentucky. Love blossoms over the course of four years as well as the usual or not so usual bumps in life that occur along the way, aggravated by the repercussions of the devastating war.
“There’s a certain appeal in this play. It’s a family story, one that we all relate to,” says Russell, who explains that several people involved in this production have ties to WW II relationships and affiliations. “[WHAT artistic director Jeff Zinn’s] father was a flyer; Mary Jo Horner who is doing costumes, her father was in the Army Air Corps; Lewis’s father was in the infantry; my dad was in the air corps, he was a radio gunner and wanted to be a flyer.”
That said, it’s fair to say Russell and company have a handle on what makes this moving story tick if only through osmosis.
Written by playwright Arlene Hutton, her first full-length play, this play has been produced regionally and even on stage at London’s New End Theatre as well as at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. With veteran Russell at the helm, there is promise that the two seasoned actors will be able to carry off the production.
Wheeler may be a familiar name for some as he was in WHAT’s production of “What Then” last summer. Other acting credits include plays such as “No Man’s Land” at the American Repertory Theatre, for which he received the IRNE nomination for best supporting actor, and “The Underpants,” performed on the Lyric Stage. His television credits include “Louisa May Alcott” for PBS and Showtime’s “Brotherhood.” He studied film at Cornell University and received his MFA from the American Film Institute.
“I’ve known about him for years. He’s summered here. His father, David, has directed here at WHAT,” says Russell. “He’s a bright, young light on the Boston scene. He produced a documentary called ‘Casting About’ and ‘Leading to War,’ a devastating look at the reasons we go to war told in the words of the people who make the decisions. It’s being released now online.”
Huston’s name also will be familiar to theatergoers. She performed in “The Captain’s Doll” in 2006 at WHAT. In New York she has been in “A Lie of the Mind,” “Dracula” and “No Exit.” Regionally she has spent three summers at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where she performed in such favorites as “Under Milk Wood,” “Street Scene” and “Carrie: The Musical.” She has performed with the Irish Classical Theatre Company, the Huntington Theatre Co. and the Red Barn Theatre in Key West. Houston has her BFA in acting from Boston University.
“There is a special quality about her,” says Russell. “She’s perfect for the role of May. Both the actors are extraordinary, a joy to work with, lovely human beings.”
Affiliated with WHAT since 1987, Russell is not just a director-actor, but he is a playwright as well as a sound designer and the producer of WHAT for Kids! For this summer’s children’s theater Russell is penning a play based on a Russian folk tale. In the past he has produced his original works for the program that he has headed up for seven years now.
“Nibroc” is his first directing assignment on the Julie Harris Stage. In the past he has directed at the Harwich Junior Theatre as well as the Academy of Performing Arts in Orleans. As an actor he has performed at the New Repertory Theatre, Lyric Stage, the Huntington Theatre Company and the Stoneham Theatre. He performed in Dan Adams’ “Chatham” and David Wall’s “Mrs. Worthington’s Party.” This spring he is slated to perform with Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner in the upcoming film, “Ghosts of Girl Friends Past.”
“Last Train to Nibroc” opens Friday and plays Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. with Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. through April 13 at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater Julie Harris Stage on Route 6 in Wellfleet. Tickets are $26 to $29. For reservations call (508) 349-WHAT.
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Gunning brings history to life with ‘Bound’
Galleries, galleries, galleries
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Mar 27th, 2008