BILL W. AND DR. BOB Begins Tonight at Trustus Side Door Theatre

Bill W. and Dr. Bob is an absorbing play by Samuel Shem and Janey Surrey about the men who created Alcoholics Anonymous in the early twentieth century. The AA movement has brought a system of support and hope to millions of addicts in recovery. This production explores how these men recognized their addiction to alcohol, what effect it was having on their lives and their families' lives, and how they started building a system that would promote effective recovery.

Bill W. and Dr. Bob opens in the Trustus Side Door Theatre tonight, May 29th at 8:00pm, and runs through June 13th, 2015. Tickets may be purchased at www.trustus.org, and coffee provided by DRIP will be sold during the performance. This production is sponsored by FAVOR (Faces and Voices of Recovery).

The story of Bill W. and Dr. Bob starts in 1929 when famous New York stockbroker Bill Wilson crashes with the stock market and becomes a hopeless drunk. Dr. Bob Smith, a surgeon from Ohio, has also been an alcoholic for thirty years, often going into the operating room with a hangover. Through an astonishing series of events, Bill W. and Dr. Bob meet and form a relationship, each helping to keep the other sober. This play is the amazing and often humorous story of the two men who pioneered Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as the story of their wives who founded Al Anon. In short, this Trustus offering is about a truly winning American success story.

Trustus Co-Artistic Director Dewey Scott-Wiley is directing this production with a popular cast of familiar faces including actor and comic Mark Ingham (Standing on Ceremony) as Dr. Bob Smith and actor Harrison Saunders (Race) as Bill Wilson. Joining them are Trustus Company Members Vicky Saye Henderson and Elena Martínez-Vidal as their wives, and Trustus Company Member Laurel Posey and guest artist Jonathan Monk playing many characters throughout the evening.

Out of respect for the material and patrons in recovery, concessions for this production will consist of coffee from DRIP, sodas, juices, water, and candies.

Bill W. and Dr. Bob opens in The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre on Friday May 29th and runs through June 13th, 2015. A talk-back will follow the matinee on May 31st, 2015. The doors and box office open thirty minutes prior to curtain, and all Trustus Side Door tickets are $25 for general admission and $20 for students. Reservations can be made by calling the Trustus Box Office at (803) 254-9732, and tickets may be purchased online at www.trustus.org.

The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady Street and on Pulaski Street. The Trustus Side Door Theatre entrance is through the glass doors on the Huger St. side of the building.

Pictured: Mark Ingham and Harrison Saunders as Dr. Bob and Bill W., respectively. Photo by Rob Sprankle.

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