A TEA WITH ZORA AND MARJORIE to Return to A Classic Theatre This July

A Classic Theatre announces the return of A Tea with Zora and Marjorie by Tallahassee playwright Dr. Barbara Speisman for a limited run on July 15 & 16.

This production is part of the year-long celebration of the 75th anniversary of the publication of Rawlings' autobiographical account of her life in rural Florida, Cross Creek, and her collection of regional recipes in Cross Creek Cookery. Rawlings wrote Cross Creek Cookery the same year (1942) because so many Cross Creek readers wanted to recreate the food she described so vividly.

ACT is also pleased to announce a "talk back" with the play's author after the Sunday 2pm performance. Dr Speisman will be available to answer your questions and talk about the play with the audience.

Directed by ACT president Jean Rahner, A Tea with Zora and Marjorie imagines the conversation between two of Florida's best loved writers during their first meeting at St. Augustine's Castle Warden Hotel, run by Rawlings' husband Norton Baskin, as they share their musings on life ... with a little "whiskey" added to their tea. The cast features the return of the two talented actors who created their roles in the original production: Rhodie Jackson of Jacksonville, who made her ACT debut in the role of Zora Neale Hurston, and St. Augustine's Nancy Grote in the role of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings.

Nancy Grote has portrayed Marjorie in previous ACT Productions of My Friend Zelma and CROSS ROADS: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings & Norton S. Baskin in Unguarded Moments. Other regional performances include appearance at Limelight and City Repertory in Palm Coast. Rhodie Jackson was recently featured in the original play St. George and the Dragon written by Jason Woods. Jackson has also performed with the Five & Dime Theatre in Jacksonville and Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine.

Performances: Saturday, July 15 at 7:30pm and Sunday, July 16 at 2:00pm at The Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center, 102 ML King Ave., downtown St. Augustine. Tickets: $20 Adults, $10 Students, available online at www.aclassictheatre.org, or by calling 904-501-5093 (Pay at the door by Check or Cash only).

This encore production was initiated at the invitation by The Friends of the Farm (Cross Creek) to perform at the Matheson History Museum in Gainesville, FL on July 21 and 22 at 7:00pm. The Matheson History Museum is located at 513 E. University Ave. in Gainesville, FL and tickets for the July 21 and 22 performances in Gainesville are available by calling the Matheson Museum at 352-378-2288 or www.zora-marjorie.eventbrite.com.

Pictured: Rhodie Jackson as Zora Neale Hurston and Nancy Grote as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlngs in "A Tea with Zora and Marjorie" by Dr. Barbara Speisman

To post a comment, you must register and login.