LIHU‘E — Women in Theatre presents Tina Howe’s off-Broadway hit “Painting Churches,” for the two weekends of March 20 and 27 at Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center. The literal and figurative portrait painted in “Painting Churches” is both a
LIHU‘E — Women in Theatre presents Tina Howe’s off-Broadway hit “Painting Churches,” for the two weekends of March 20 and 27 at Kaua‘i Community College Performing Arts Center. The literal and figurative portrait painted in “Painting Churches” is both a sketch of three characters and the painting of a family portrait.
In the play, Mags Church (played by WIT president Mellissa McFerrin) returns to Boston to help her aging parents move out of their family home. Having fled to New York to become an artist she seizes this opportunity to paint a portrait of her parents. Despite the churning of old resentments, as an artist she seeks to see her parents with objectivity — as subjects of her canvas.
“This play has so many levels to it,” said director Laurel Patterson McGraw. “The more we work with it the more threads and themes we discover.”
Patterson McGraw has been involved in theatre in all capacities on Kaua‘i since 1989.
Fanny and Gardner Church are played by Romey Curtis and Gregg Nixon. A seasoned actress and director, Curtis, is a founding member of WIT.
“Painting Churches” is Gregg’s fifth production with WIT. He’s a veteran of Broadway, off-Broadway, film and television. His character, Gardner Church is an aging Pulitzer Prize-winning poet slowly losing his mental abilities. His wife Fanny is an eccentric, sharp-tongued Bostonian.
“Their daughter feels misunderstood and it’s about having her parents accept her,” Curtis said. “It’s a question of healing old wounds.”
The script is rich with drama and revelations that explore the connections and collisions that give meaning to life.
“It’s about how we choose to define ourselves,” Patterson McGraw said. “We change our memories, edit them and have shared memories that are both correct and incorrect. This play is about our collective memories and creating new ones.”
“The end is absolutely magical,” Curtis added. “At the last they are making one last beautiful memory for themselves and for their daughter.”
Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door; students 13 to 18 years old, $10. Performances are 7 p.m. March 20, 21, 27, 28 and 4 p.m. March 22, 29. Tickets available at the following outlets: K-Mart; Ola’s, Hanalei; Magic Dragon, Princeville; North Shore Pharmacy; Kaua‘i Music and Sound, Kapa‘a; Vicky’s Fabrics, Kapa‘a; Grande’s Gems; Kalheo Cafe; Banana Patch Studios, Hanapepe and The Wine Shop, Koloa.
For more information call 635-3727.
• Pam Woolway is the lifestyle writer for The Garden Island. She can be reached at pwoolway@kauaipubco.com or 245-3681 ext. 257.
