OPENING JULY 16th - 20th
Scottish Rite Cathedral
Casting for River City Repertory Theatre's upcoming production of
"The Member of the Wedding" has been completed. The rarely seen
American classic by Carson McCullers, opens July 16th at the Scottish Rite
Cathedral and runs through July 20th.
Academy Award nominee, MARGARET AVERY, will appear as Berenice Sadie Brown.
Ms. Avery was nominated for the Oscar for her role in Steven Spielberg's
film, "The Color Purple" which also starred Whoopi Goldberg,
Oprah Winfrey and Danny Glover. Currently, Avery can be seen in two films
that are in wide release, "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" with
Martin Lawrence and Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns." Ms.
Avery has been awarded a NAACP LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD and has received
a Los Angeles Drama Critics Award.
River City Rep is Shreveport/Bossier's first professional theatre
company sanctioned by Actors' Equity, the union for professional theatre
artists in America. "The Member of the Wedding" is part of RCR's
"Southern Theatre Series" which annually highlights a play written
by a southern playwright or examining the southern lifestyle.
"The Member of the Wedding" depicts the enmeshed lives of whites
and blacks in the South during the war years of the 1940s and the turmoil
of twelve year old tomboy, Frankie Addams. Berenice, who works in the Addams
household, has become a surrogate mother to the young, motherless girl.
The play was made into a major motion picture starring Ethel Waters and
Julie Harris repeating their Broadway performances and was filmed in a new
production for Showtime starring Alfre Woodard and Anna Paquin.
LEXI LANGS has been cast as Frankie Addams, the young tomboy bursting with
adolescent dreams. Langs has appeared at the American Girl Theatre in NYC,
the Orlando Shakespeare Theatre and the Orlando Repertory Theatre
Completing the cast is BENJAMIN MAXEY as John Henry West, Frankie's
young cousin; LEONARD YOAKUM as Mr. Addams, Frankie's father; JAMES
MONK as Jarvis, Frankie's brother; JENNIFER WARREN as Janice, the
bride-to-be; STAN BLACKSHIRE as T.T., a neighborhood man wooing Berenice;
NICKI DANIELS as Honey, a disgruntled young man; CHARITY SCHUBERT as Mrs.
West, John Henry's mother; and CATHARINE BARBAREE and LORNA DOPSON
as neighborhood girls.
The show is being directed by PATRIC MCWILLIAMS, the Artistic Director of
River City Rep, with Light Design by TRISTAN DECKER; Costume Design and
Set Design by McWilliams; Sound Design and Original Score by KERMIT POLING
and Production Stage Manager, ALAN BERRY.
The show has performances July 16, 17, 18, 19 at 7:30 p.m. and a 3 p.m.
matinee on Sunday July 2O.
Box Office opens Monday, June 30th. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through
Saturday. Ticket prices are $35.00 for Orchestra and Upper Center Tier and
$25.00 for Upper Side Tiers. Reservations may be made by calling the theatre
box office at 318-868-5888 or tickets may be purchased at the box office
located at 2829 Youree Drive, Suite #4.
Performances are at The Scottish Rite Cathedral located at 725 Cotton Street
in downtown Shreveport.
A biography and additional information on Ms. Avery may be found at www.margaretavery.com
