Lakewood Theatre Company Presents WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN? This Weekend

Lakewood Theatre Company presents the musical What Makes Sammy Run? part of the Lost Treasures Collection Series this weekend, February 20 & 21, 2015 The Lost Treasures Collection, a series of rarely performed musical gems, is back for a fifth season at Lakewood Theatre Company. This year the musicals in the series reflect the theme "Of Men and Supermen."

Each musical is presented in a concert/cabaret style. The second offering of the series, What Makes Sammy Run?, will have only three performances, Friday, February 20 at 7:00 PM and Saturday, February 21 at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM. Performances are on Lakewood's Side Door stage at Lakewood Center for the Arts in Lake Oswego, Oregon. The 2014-15 series sponsor is Dr. Fritz Camp.

Each show in the Lost Treasures Series is presented script-in-hand, with minimal staging. No sets, no props (free from the usual trappings of a fully staged production). Food and beverages are available for purchase before and during the show.

In 2013, PAMTA (Portland Area Musical Theatre Awards) presented Lakewood Theatre Company with a special award celebrating the origination of this series and the curatorial care that director Ron Daum has brought to this series of musical plays.

What Makes Sammy Run? features music and lyrics by Ervin M. Drake and book by Budd Schulberg and Stuart Schulberg. The production is based on the novel of the same name by Budd Schulberg. Lakewood's production is directed by Ron Daum. Musical direction is by Brian Michael and the producer is Kay Vega. The title sponsor is Dr. Fritz Camp.

The Story: Sammy Glick is a driven young man from a poor family who rises to a position of prominence in the movie industry by ruthlessly using any and every one he comes across to get ahead. Starting as a copy boy on a New York newspaper, he cheats his way to the heights of Hollywood. Lakewood's cast features Gary Wayne Cash as Sammy Glick, David Sweeney as Al Manheim and Shirley Andres Tendick as Kit Sargent. The ensemble also features Angie Fisher, Doren Elias, Jesse Miller and Travis Patterson.

Plot: Al Manheim (David Sweeney), a theatre columnist at a New York paper, meets Sammy Glick (Gary Wayne Cash), a sixteen year-old copy boy. Sammy intrigues Al when he notices that no goal seems out of reach and morals completely escape the teen. Al tries to mentor Sammy but the young man soon undermines Al to their editor and squeezes himself into Al's column as a radio columnist. Sammy uses this break to get his name known around New York. He eventually pushes his way into Hollywood where he gets his first job by taking the credit for another writer's original story. The movie becomes a hit and Sammy is on his way to a successful movie-writing career.

Al and Sammy's paths cross again when Al is hired to also write for movies. Sammy tries to introduce Al to the biggest executives and all of the "right" people but Al isn't interested in playing the Hollywood game to get ahead. He also sees that Sammy has little interest in becoming a better writer or a better person. Al watches as Sammy crushes lives and dreams to get to the top while Al tries to find his place in Hollywood and in his own life.

Kit Sargent (Shirley Andres Tendrick) is the start of Al's turn to happiness. When Al meets Kit, she is Sammy's lover but Al quickly learns that she is nothing like Sammy. Al and Kit develop a relationship and discover they have many of the same interests and the same love for writing, theater and film. In the end, Sammy gets the success, money and power that he craves. But even with his achievements, Sammy is left to run a never-ending race with all of the players of the Hollywood game while Al is the one with the true gift of love and a fulfilling life.

Ticket prices are $20 for all seats. Contact the Lakewood Theatre Box Office at (503) 635-3901 or order online at http://www.lakewood-center.org/

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