Manatee Players Produce World Premiere Of THE LONG REUNION

Manatee Performing Arts Center is pleased to announce Manatee Players' world premiere of The Long Reunion, which runs May 24-27 in the Bradenton Kiwanis Theater. The show was written by internationally produced, award-winning playwright, Jack Gilhooley, who resides in Manatee County. The Long Reunion humorously addresses the issue of rising tides as witnessed by three Manatee High School graduates over the course of four decades.

Gilhooley contends that his inspiration for the play emanated from a visit to Miami Beach when he witnessed fish swimming down Collins Avenue after a heavy rainstorm. "I knew then that there was a play in me about rising tides. And I knew that it had to be ironically humorous. Comedy can be a vehicle for any subject, witness Mel Brooks, witness Rhinoceros."

The Long Reunion was written by playwright and Manatee County resident Jack Gilhooley. The show was workshopped with an Actors' Equity cast in Boca Raton in 2017 by Jan McArt's New Play Reading Series. At the time, the play was set in an anonymous restaurant in a fictional seacoast city. Since Gihooley had a work previously produced by Manatee Players (The Split, co-authored with his wife, Jo Morello) he approached Producing Artistic Director Rick Kerby to discuss localizing the play. The setting is now a restaurant on the banks of Manatee River.

The Long Reunion is a new comedy about climate change, particularly rising tides. It follows three 1993 graduates of Manatee High School as they celebrate successive milestone class reunions, from their 25th to 65th, each time at the same restaurant on the bank of the Manatee River. References to local landmarks and names of actual graduates from Manatee High School provide the flavor that localizes this show. There's even a reference to the late, beloved Snooty. The play ends in 2058 with the three friend, now in their 80s, celebrating their 65th class reunion as the restaurant where they've met for decades, is about to be washed out to sea.

Director's Notes for The Long Reunion

High school reunions are funny things, aren't they? I know mine have been! Lots of laughs, reminiscing, but terribly awkward at the same time-especially when you get a long way down the road. We start off in the present with the 25th reunion of Billy, Jimmy, and Daisy from Manatee High School's class of 1993. They still have a strong bond as friends, but so much has happened in the time since then. What stayed the same and what's different? How has the world changed in 25 years and how has life treated them? Each time we drop in on the threesome
(plus a strange waitress), they've advanced another ten years. We end with their 65th reunion at the ages of 83. Jack Gilhooley's script imagines a future full of unexpected twists and turns.
The play's interaction of the characters is both terribly funny and touching, but there are some dystopian undertones that follow the characters along. What does the future hold for them and the world around them (and for us)? Let's find out!

Biography of Jack Gilhooley, Author

Gilhooley has been awarded two National Endowment for the Arts grants (Individual Playwright and International to Centaur Theatre, Montreal), four Florida Arts Council Playwriting grants, two Fulbright Guest Artist Awards (to Spain and Ireland), a Eugene O'Neill Conference playwright residency, two Puffin Foundation awards and a New York Foundation for the Arts grant. His plays have been produced with five Ford Foundation development subsidies. He was awarded the very first John Ringling Fund Artistic Fellowship. His myriad productions have been throughout the US, including Asolo mainstage, as well as England, Scotland, Ireland, France and Australia.

Biography of Mark Woodland, Director

Mark Woodland is a director, actor, singer, and musician who has been working in the region for over 30 years. As a director, his most recent work includes numerous credits with the Starlite Players, and three seasons of Spirit Voices from Old Manatee. Manatee Performing Arts Center audiences may know him better as an actor, most recently as Greg in Sylvia in the Bradenton Kiwanis Theatre. His Manatee Players days include Ring of Fire, and go back to 1987, when he appeared in Cinderella as the Prince. Favorite roles include Sky Masterson in Guys & Dolls, Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady, and C.C. Showers in The Diviners. Mark performed in all six seasons of Shakespeare on the Island, notably as Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night. Mark co-wrote and performed an original play with Preston Boyd titled A Barnyard of Stars, uniquely designed to be performed inside a planetarium. He plays guitar and sings every chance he gets. Mark graduated from Florida State University with a Fine Arts degree in Acting and Directing.

General admission tickets are $26 (fees may apply). Student and teacher discounts are available by phone and in-person. Group rates are available. Tickets can be purchased at Manatee Performing Arts Center, 502 Third Avenue W, Bradenton. Box Office hours: 10 a.m.-5p.m., Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, by phone (941)748-5875 or online at www.ManateePerformingArtsCenter.com.

About Manatee Performing Arts Center

We are committed to being the community's premiere theater and the region's center for cultural, educational and artistic expression. Our team works tirelessly to ensure that we deliver engaging excellence for all ages, through the talent we present, the services we offer and the experiences we create. Our goal is not just to entertain you. We want to inspire you.

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