Waycross Theatre Noir

                     

 

There have been comments that we, Purlie Productions, do “dark plays”.  It’s true, our topics have been racism (“Purlie Victorious”) and the Holocaust (“The Diary of Anne Frank”).  It  is also true that our current production is also about the Holocaust, although from a different perspective.  It is a story of the legacy left by those who lived through those times and the impact that continues to be evident to this day.

Waycross has two other theater companies that largely produce shows that are solely for entertainment.  There is nothing wrong with entertainment for its own sake.  All of in PP like to be entertained by music and comedy as well.  But there is nothing wrong with a little enlightenment thrown in as well.

The story told in this play has comedy as well.  Our characters are complex people that come alive with their faults and virtues.  But us humans have dark sides as well.  If that wasn’t true, there wouldn’t have been a Holocaust.  In addition, no one can say with any certainty that this couldn’t happen again.  Watching the neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville should make us chill with recognition and wonder how this happens. 

We want you to enjoy our play, but we also want you never to forget what happened in our not-so-distant past.  Hatred of the other is not just a one-time historical event, it is an ongoing legacy.  Slavery is over in our country, but our African-American citizens still carry the memory.  We don’t shoot Native Americans any more, but we don’t treat them like equals either.  Our current leader has made it clear what he thinks of Mexicans, Muslims, and now, Puerto Ricans.  I have to assume he isn't much worried about Jewish or black people either.

We want you to love our show.  Not just for the “message” but for the comedy, talent and creativity of our cast and crew.  Yes, I am seriously prejudiced in that I think that we have a cast of the most dedicated and talented actors (Tom Strait, Julianna Lacefield, Emily Beck and Kyler Austin) ever to grace a stage in Waycross.  We operate in the “Macgyver”* (or “MacGruber”)**Theater” (actually the Studio at the Okefenokee Heritage Center) due to the hard work and creativity of Lamar Deal.  We have professional quality light and sound due to the efforts of David Bruchie (assisted by Warren Wilson), and have the best set we can muster within our limited budget thanks to Lamar and Samantha Bruchie.  We are a small but mighty group!  Come see us!

*Named dubiously after the TV show: “Young war hero Angus "Mac" MacGyver has an extraordinary knack for unconventional problem solving and an extensive bank of scientific knowledge that he believes can best be put to use saving lives, both of which come in handy when he creates a clandestine organization within the United States government to tackle high-risk missions around the world. Working under the sponsorship of the Department of External Affairs, MacGyver quietly prevents disasters with the help of former CIA agent Jack Dalton."

 

                                                               

**An SNL parody of MacGyver:  “MacGruber was a recurring sketch on the NBC television series Saturday Night Live, first appearing on the show in January 2007. The sketch is a parody of the 1985–1992 adventure series MacGyver. The sketch stars Will Forte as special operations agent MacGruber, who is tasked in each episode with deactivating a ticking bomb but becomes distracted by personal issues, resulting in the bomb's detonation and (presumably) the deaths of his companions and himself.”