Theater by the Book to Present FORTUNE, 6/3
By: Tyler Peterson May. 27, 2015
"Fortune" is a poignant love story beautifully disguised as a hilarious comedy. Rich in laughter and rich in love, it is the story of Maude a lonely, surly, storefront psychic who has accepted that love is not in the cards for her. She can see the future and knows this is to be true. But when Jeremy, a despondent love-hungry accountant threatens to kill himself is she sees no love for him, she must wrestle with fate, and in changing his destiny, change her own.
"A few years ago, Monica brought me the script for "Fortune" as a possible vehicle for us to do together. I read it and loved it; it was a sweet, old-fashioned story about two mismatched strangers -- one of them actually able to see into the future -- tossed onto that old "bumpy road to love," explains Thomas. "But this story was braced by some of the wittiest and funniest dialogue I had ever read in a story like this. I thought it would be perfect."
Theater being theater, living had a way of getting in the way, and Thomas and McKey never got a chance to perform the play. Then, this spring, when it was suggested that Thomas (who is a Sierra Stages Board member) direct one of the Theater by the Book readings, he immediately thought of this play and contacted McKey to see if she was interested in doing the play as a reading. When she said "yes", Thomas contacted local actor Stephen Wellman to see if he would be interested in playing opposite McKey in the role of Jeremy.
"I am so happy it worked out this way, because the two of them have great chemistry and great senses of humor. They're both seasoned pros, and we've been having a lot of fun in rehearsals bringing these two odd creatures to life," says Thomas.
"Fortune" is the third reading in the third season of Theater by the Book. The first two shows this year were successful artistically and well received by the audience. "Our audiences for Theater by the Book continue to grow. For "Ordinary Days" in March, the Stone Hall was packed and we almost had to turn away folks, For "The Trip to Bountiful" in April, we had one of our largest audiences for a reading. The readings have become "appointment" theater for a growing core of audience members who appreciate the opportunity to see a wide variety of plays (and musicals) performed by our incredibly talented acting community," explains Peter Mason of Sierra Stages.
"For me, Theater by the Book is a lot like Radio Theater, a format I've always loved," says Thomas. "If you own a subscription to Satellite Radio, you may have come across their "Radio Classics" channel. I often listen to it when I'm in the car for long stretches, or at home alone. It's "Theater of the Imagination" - it's all right there in your mind. The time flies by and I hear great stuff I never knew existed. Theater by the Book is like that, with a few extra visuals thrown in for good measure, although we purposely keep the staging to a minimum to let the audience's imagination take over."
Following "Fortune", Theater by the Book will take a break over the summer while Sierra Stages presents Mel Brooks "The Producers" from July 16 - August 8 at the historic Nevada Theatre. This will be the seventh annual summer production presented by the local nonprofit theatre group and continues Sierra Stages' tradition of putting on a large musical production during the summer. Winner of an unprecedented 12 Tony Awards and chock full of Mel Brooks' signature comedy and music, "The Producers" is directed by Susan Mason, with dance direction by George Jayne and musical direction by Ken Getz, and features an all local Nevada County cast, orchestra and production team.
For more information about "Fortune" and "The Producers", please visit www.SierraStages.org, or call Sierra Stages at (530) 346-3210.
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