Chicago, IL (1888PressRelease)
April 22, 2008 - Buffalo Theatre Ensemble (BTE), a professional company, presents Marie Jones’ comedy, Stones in His Pockets, directed by Bryan Burke, about an Irish village beset (and enthralled) by the filming of a cheesy Hollywood epic. It runs May 2 - 25, 2008, at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage, 425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn. Winner of the Olivier Award for Best Comedy, Stones in His Pockets is two actors’ tour-de-force of 15 characters.
Stones in His Pockets is set in a small village in County Kerry in rural Ireland where a major Hollywood studio is making a mega-hit film called The Quiet Valley. Charlie and Jake are down-and-out Irishmen, relieved to be hired as extras.
Actors William “Sandy” Smillie and Henry Odum use only voices and bodies. They switch gender and character with swift dexterity and the absolute bare minimum of costume changes - a hat here, a jacket there.
“Our goal is to make the audience almost forget that there are only two people playing all of these roles,” said director Bryan Burke. “At times, the audience will feel the stage is crowded with characters. Both Sandy and Henry are gifted in dialects, switching at top speed from Irish to American to British to Scottish to the cockney of London’s East End.”
An interesting side note is that most of Hollywood's "in people" have always believed that the play is a veiled attempt, using the title The Quiet Valley, to lampoon Ron Howard's filming of Far and Away, with one of the characters, Caroline Giovanni, standing in for actor Tom Cruise.
In Act II, the play turns more serious with a tragedy happening to one of the extras on the film that explains the play’s title. It’s a sobering event, bringing reality back to all the extras, but certainly not to the Hollywood folks. The extras ultimately demonstrate that hope exists in the face of despair.
Dates and show times for Stones in His Pockets are: 8 p.m. Thursdays, May 1 (preview,) 8, 15 and 22; 8 p.m. Fridays, May 2, 9, 16 and 23; 8 p.m. Saturdays, May 3, 10, 17 and 24; and 2 p.m. Sundays, May 4, 11, 18 and 25. Tickets range from $27 to $30, with discounts for seniors and students.
Call 630-942-4000 or visit www.AtTheMAC.org.
