Sep. 6—Theatre Workshop of Owensboro will debut its main stage season opener with a production of Lisa Kron's "Well," a "funny and touching comedy about mothers and daughters, mind over body, social activism and theatre itself" beginning this week.
The show will kick off with a dinner theatre performance at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8, followed by performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9 and Saturday, Sept. 10 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 11.
Shows are also scheduled at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 16 and Saturday, Sept. 17, along with a final performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18.
All shows will be performed at TWO's Trinity Centre, 407 W. Fifth St. — marking the first theatrical production in the space since its production of "Sons of the Prophet" in February 2020.
"It's fun to be back in the old stomping grounds again," said Todd Reynolds, executive director of TWO. "It's the first dinner theater that we've done in all that time. It's a good feeling."
"Well" deals with the topics of health, family and community with the story of Kron's mother's ability to "heal a changing neighborhood, despite her inability to heal herself" when she organized her neighborhood into an integrated community in Lansing, Michigan.
Kron, playing herself in the original production, presented this play with her mother Ann Kron, played by Tony-winning actress Jayne Houdyshell, sitting in a "La-Z-Boy recliner" and dove into "a multi character theatrical exploration of issues of health and illness both in the individual and in a community" while also exploring "illness" and "wellness."
" 'Well' is my favorite kind of show, and it's sort of a rollercoaster show," Reynolds said. "There are plenty of moments that are laugh out loud. The characters are big and broad and they come from the memory of Lisa Kron.
"It's going to be a fun show. ...I hope we get a good turnout, and I hope people will see it."
Kron's character, played by Nicol Maurer, "makes the mistake" of bringing her mother on stage, played by Debbie Reynolds, who begins to "direct her memories throughout the whole thing."
Wes Bartlett, director of TWO's production, saw the play on Broadway in 2006, which made an impact on him.
"I saw it and I walked away and I was so impressed with the staging and the story that I just felt if there was ever an opportunity to direct this, I would love to," he said. "So, here we are."
Bartlett described the show as a "workshop-style" production.
"True to the original, we're not spending a lot of money on fancy sets, fancy costumes, elaborate prop pieces," he said. "We're keeping it just as simple as it was when it was originally produced."
The show itself has been a different undertaking, said Bartlett, with the show running straight through about 100 minutes without an intermission and the show's template being different than what he's been used to.
While Bartlett described it as a challenge, he has also found it fun.
"This format is absolutely like nothing else I have ever done," he said. "The author, Lisa Kron, was a solo performer who was attempting to do a show with multiple characters, and this was kind of an experimental project for her. Most of the plays that I do have a beginning, middle and end and a pretty simple plot structure and a storyline. But this one is completely chaotic — everything that she rehearses, everything that she and her fellow actors have planned out gets interrupted ... by Mom; who is continually interrupting, continually wanting to have a side chat with the other actors.
"I've never seen a play that was structured like this ever, and that was one thing that appealed to me as a director. In 30 years of directing, I've never come across anything quite this complicated and structured (this way)."
Reynolds said the 2022-23 season also has a presenting sponsor for the first time with Owensboro Health, and the show is sponsored by The Spot Coffee and Finery, with the latter also sponsoring TWO's monthly cabaret series.
"It feels great," he said. "We're always looking for collaborations and partnerships ...."
He also said it "just feels good to be back in the saddle and doing what we're supposed to be doing" since the height of the coronavirus pandemic caused uncertainty.
"COVID's not completely gone, and we understand that, but we're back to full seating capacity," Reynolds said. "We feel like with vaccines and things are becoming a little bit more normalized, we upgraded the filtration in our theaters; so we feel like they are safer places to be, too.
"We're just ready to get back to doing what we do, and this is a great show to start it with."
Tickets are available now and can be purchased by calling TWO's box office at 270-683-5333 or by logging onto theatreworkshop.org/tickets.
Tickets will also be available at the door with a $2 upcharge.
Tickets for Thursday's dinner theatre performance are available for purchase until 2 p.m. today, Sept. 6.
