By Crystal McGough, Associate Editor
TRUSSVILLE – ACTA Theatre kicked off its opening night of John Patrick’s “The Curious Savage” last night, and this is one show you do not want to miss.
L-R: Erica Egan (Florence), Gia Warren (Fairy May), Summer Martin (Miss Wilhelmina), Kerry Burrell (Hannibal), Matt McGough (Jeffrey). (Photo by Crystal McGough)
With a perfectly chosen case, and directed by Angie McGowan, “The Curious Savage” brought the opening-night audience to both laughter and tears.
This play tells the comedic and yet heartwarming story of Mrs. Savage, a widow who inherits $10 million dollars, but is declared insane and put into a group home by her greedy and self-centered stepchildren after she uses the money to start a memorial fund in honor of her late husband.
While her formal name for the fund is the “Jonathan Savage Memorial Fund,” her personal name for it is “The Happiness Fund,” because she uses the money to make people’s dreams come true, no matter how silly the dreams may seem.
In Mrs. Savage’s words, “There are plenty of charities for foolish people in desperate need, and none for people with a desperate need to be foolish.”
Throughout the play, theater-goers get to be metaphorical flies on the walls as they observe the beautiful relationships Mrs. Savage forms with the residents and staff of The Cloisters Sanatorium, who ultimately come to her aid in the conflict with her stepchildren.
How this story unfolds, however, is a secret only to be revealed by purchasing a ticket and filling a seat at one of the remaining five shows.
The remaining show dates and times are Feb. 11, 17 and 18, at 7 p.m., and two matinee performances, Feb. 12 and 19, at 2:30 p.m.
Tickets can be purchased at www.actatheater.com or at the door, and cost $15 for adults, $12 for senior citizens (60+), and $10 for students. Concessions will also be available at the theater for $1 each.
L-R: Paige Turner Cain (Ethel Savage), Chris Bever (Titus), John Michael Boswell (Samuel), and Julia Williams (Lily Belle). (Photo by Crystal McGough)
L-R: Summer Martin (Miss Wilhelmina) and Paige Turner Cain (Ethel Savage). (Photo by Crystal McGough)
L-R: John Michael Boswell (Samuel), Chris Bever (Titus), Lynne Long (Dr. Emmett), Julia Williams (Lily Belle). (Photo by Crystal McGough)
