Photo Credit: Jon Paul Salonen
Merced College Community Services and Mariposa Community Theatre Play Production class presents Pulitzer Prize Winner Lanford Wilson’s suspenseful play, “The Rimers of Eldritch.”
Oct. 3, 4, 10, 11 @ 7:30 pm and Oct. 12 @ 2:00 pm
Mariposa County Park Amphitheater Onstage
October 3, 2014 - Set in the “rust-belt” mid-West of 1967, “The Rimers of Eldritch” weaves back and forth in time as we discover how Skelly, the town’s outcast, was murdered not only by the spinster Nelly, who pulled the trigger, but by the words and actions of the town’s inhabitants. For mature audiences, “The Rimers of Eldritch” exposes the underpinnings of a corrupted society that dresses itself in sugary lace while providing false values for its young.
Lanford Wilson’s richly drawn characters are portrayed by veteran actors Angela Heiss and Candace Hoffman, who take the roles of “Wilma” and “Martha” the town gossips; Bill Dunham (well-known to the Merced acting community) has joined us to play “Peck”, the patriarch of the Johnson farming family; Matty Elliott returns from last year’s “A View from the Bridge” to play the role of “Mavis Johnson”, the beleaguered mother of “Patsy Johnson” played by Audrey Davis (most-recently seen in “Almost Maine”) and “Josh Johnson” played by Kyle Stivers; Charles Phillips plays the troubled young man, “Robert” who wanders through the woods with his only friend, the crippled young “Eva” played by Claire Gorham; Eva’s self-serving mother “Evelyn” is played by Mary Britt (well-known to Mariposa play-goers for her many roles); Kirstyn Hanner plays “Cora” the café owner, and local performer Jon Paul Salonen (“1776” and “Almost Maine”) is “Walter”, her young lover; Veteran character actor Dominic Coleman plays the outcast “Skelly”; Karen Silver (well-known for many roles) plays the senile old woman, “Mary” and Connie Stetson (professional actress and director – “Almost Maine”) plays “Nellie” her abusive daughter; Kevin Roberts plays the double role of “Preacher/Judge”; Michelle Linn plays “Lena,” a high school girl and Ira Jones plays “Trucker.”
Directed by retired professor Fred Friedland assisted by Richard Hoffman, former artistic director for the Golden Chain Theater and Front Row Theatre, the production also features professionally designed sets and costumes by Stuart Pierce and Anna Rotondaro, respectively, and lighting by local lighting artist, Aaron Marcus.
Performances will be at the Mariposa County Park Amphitheater Onstage October 3, 4, 10, 11 at 7:30 pm and October 12 at 2 pm.
Admission is $12 general and $10 for seniors and students.
Pre-sale tickets are available at the following outlets in Mariposa: Mariposa Shipping, High Country Health Foods and Café, Mountain Crisis Services, and Mariposa Arts Council.
In Merced, pre-sale tickets are available at Gottschalk’s Music Center and at Merced College Community Services (209) 384-6224.
Also, tickets can be purchased at the door one hour prior to show time.
Talk-backs following the performances will be hosted by Mountain Crisis Services on October 4 and 12.
A portion of the proceeds benefit Mountain Crisis Services.
“The Rimers of Eldritch” by Lanford Wilson is produced by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York, New York.
