The Buck Creek Players will continue their 2012-13 season "In the Spotlight" with the comedy "Escanaba in da Moonlight," written by Jeff Daniels ("The Hours," "Terms of Endearment," "Dumb and Dumber").
Opening Jan. 25 and running for two weekends through Feb. 3, curtain times are 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays with 2:30 p.m. matinees offered on Sundays. All performances are at Buck Creek Playhouse, 11150 Southeastern Ave., Indianapolis. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students (through college) and senior citizens (ages 62 and older). This production is recommended for audiences ages 13 and older. Reservations are recommended and may be reserved online at www.buckcreekplayers.com or by calling 862-2270. Group discounts are also available for parties of 10 or more.
The story is narrated by Albert Soady, the patriarch, played by Ken Ganza. His two sons join him at the Soady Deer Camp, located "north of the Mackinaw Bridge and just south of heaven." It's just the guys here, doing what guys do at the start of hunting season. Beer, whiskey, cards ... the essentials.
Albert's oldest son, Rueben, played by Joe Siefker, is a dim hunter slouching into middle age, ostracized by the men in his family and the children of the town of Escanaba for his annual inability to bag a buck. Rueben joins his father, his brother Remnar, played by Stefan U.G. LeBlanc, and eccentric family friend Jimmer Negamany from Menominee, played by Tim Staggs, at the Soady Deer Camp for their yearly, alcohol-soaked ritual of tall tales and one-upmanship.
Albert says of his younger son, "Remnar turned out to be pretty much what you'd expect from somebody who went by the name of Remnar." Remnar is wildly enthusiastic about hunting season. "It's like Christmas, with guns!" Jimmer was once abducted by aliens and spent a weekend in "shpashe." Rueben has a bigger problem since he has never shot a buck, and is ridiculed by the entire population of the town of Escanaba. He hopes that this year he will break the curse and bring home a trophy buck the help of his Ojibwa wife, Wolf Moon Dance, played by Cerissa Marsh.
Otherworldly forces conspire to keep the Soady men from achieving their goals. However, soon after they set up camp, they're plagued by blinding lights and hallucinogenic visions, imparted to them -- presumably -- by UFOs. When Ranger Tom of the Department of Natural Resources (Dennis Karr) arrives on their doorstep, the Soadys know that their evening is about to become stranger still, and Rueben's hopes of living down his reputation as "Da Buckless Yooper" are all but dashed.
John D. Carver makes his return to direct for Buck Creek Players after last appearing on its stage as Nick in "A Little Christmas Spirit" this past December. He also has previously directed "Bus Stop" for the playhouse in fall 2011. Joining Carver on the production team are Melissa DeVito (producer), Lauren M. Hanson (assistant director), Tom Beasley (technical director), Donald Stikeleather and Dan Denniston (lighting designers), Jennifer Bower (costumer), Kim Conolly (hair and wig design), and Elizabeth Popplewell (stage manager). Carver, Beasley, and Denniston also designed the set.
For more information or directions to the playhouse, visit the theater's website at www.buckcreekplayers.com.
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