The Adobe Theater's THE WHITEHEADED BOY Begins Today

Who is "The Whiteheaded Boy"? He is the Irish equivalent of our "Fair-haired child," the one who can do no wrong, the one who is indulged in all that he does. He gets the largest piece of pie, the choicest piece of meat, and his favorite meal whenever he wants. He is the one who has been told since birth that he is "different" from all the rest - special, better. He is the "gifted" one, the boy for whom the gates of success will magically open simply because he asks. He is the one whose inevitable fall to Earth is especially painful because it is so unexpected.

Irish playwright Lennox Robinson (1886-1958) wrote The Whiteheaded Boy in 1915. It opened to rave reviews in 1916, and is frequently called Lennox's masterpiece. Full of twists and turns, ups and downs, and families fighting each other and one another, it culminates in a happy, happy ending - for some, if not for others!

A year or so ago, director George Williams was scouting around for an Irish play he could present - but he had a condition: It had to be a comedy. "So often", Williams says, "when people think of Irish theater, the stories they think of are filled with angst, gloom, and crushing hardship. But the Irish are also a people of mirth, wit, and humor." He was having a hard time finding just the right script until local scholars and actors, Alan Hudson and Ray Orley, steered him to Lennox Robinson and The Whiteheaded Boy. "When I read it," he says, "I grinned, chuckled, and laughed out loud several times. It's a delightful story."

Many of the cast are well-known to Adobe audiences - Shangreaux Lagrave (Caesar's Blood) and Micah Linford (Caesar's Blood, Dividing The Estate and will be directing the next production in July, The Curious Savage) Ray Orley (A Crack In The Wall), Kathleen Welker (directed and acted in The Game's Afoot), Andrea Haskett (The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail), and we welcome some new faces Ronda Lewis (who just appeared in Diving The Estate), Marie Nido, Ashley Reid, Nicole Stefan and Jordan Cafolla. "Great cast," Williams says, "plug them into a great script and, as the Irish might say, 'Katie, bar the door!'

George Williams is the current President of The Adobe Theater Board of Directors, and the 2nd Vice-President of Storytellers of New Mexico. He started acting while in High School in Oklahoma, and jumped into Albuquerque's theater scene as soon as he moved here in 2011. George has acted & directed at The Adobe Theater, The Vortex Theater, and Albuquerque Little Theater. Two of his original plays have been produced - "The Code of The West (On The Air)", about the last days of Old Time Radio, was produced by The Gaslight Theater in Enid, Oklahoma; and "Lost Letter", a story of the Dust Bowl time, was produced at The Adobe Theater in 2014. He is currently looking for a venue to produce his newest play, "Sanctuary" - a medieval murder mystery.

THE WHITEHEADED BOY opens at The ADOBE Theater today, June 10th, and runs 4 weekends through Sunday, July 3rd. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm, with a special 'Pay What You Will' performance (to benefit the cast and crew) on Thursday, June 23rd, at 7.30pm. Tickets are $17, seniors and students $15. Reservations 505-898-9222, or online at www.adobetheater.org. The Adobe Theater is located at 9813 Fourth Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87114.

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