Trustus Black Box Presents A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE, 4/19-28

The Trustus Black Box Theatre has been transformed into an intimate hotel room that's ready to set the stage for a gun-toting comedic adventure as Martin McDonagh's A Behanding in Spokane comes to the Midlands. The show opens on Thursday April 19th at 7:30pm, and runs through Saturday April 28th, 2012.

Columbia audiences are no strangers to the work of English playwright Martin McDonagh. Such pieces as The Lonesome West and The Lieutenant of Inishmore have found a home on the Trustus Main Stage in the past, and his Tony-winning The Pillowman was at Theatre South Carolina some years ago. McDonagh is also an Oscar-winning screenwriter and director and Trustus Theatre is thrilled to be producing another work by this comedic and poignant contemporary craftsman as A Behanding in Spokane comes to the Trustus Black Box.

A Behanding in Spokane follows a mysterious stranger, Carmichael, who is on the hunt for his missing hand after it was taken from him many years ago. Add to the mix two bungling crooks with appendages to sell with one devious hotel receptionist that gets caught up in his dangerous machinations, and you've got a recipe for a roller-coaster evening in the theatre. Carmichael brings audiences into his obsessive search for what has been missing from his life since childhood. This comedy slices open the roots of fanaticism and lays open the need to be "whole" again.
A Behanding in Spokane, which is McDonagh's first American-set play (most of his shows are set in Ireland), found a home on Broadway in 2010.

Trustus Company member and Director Daniel Bumgardner saw the original Broadway production of A Behanding in Spokane which featured Christopher Walken in the role of the hand-seeking Carmichael.

"When I saw the show on Broadway it took some time to process - partly because of the big old A-List elephant in the room featured in the lead role," said Bumgardner. "Reading it definitely provided insight into its real brilliance. This is the story of a man with higher principles, no carnal desires, and one goal...and this is the final stand."

The Trustus production doesn't have Christopher Walken, but it does feature a fantastic cast of actors who have all appeared on various stages across Columbia. G. Scott Wild (Carmichael) has been featured as Booth in Trustus Theatre's Assassins and Benny Goodman in the world premiere of Swing '39. ElisaBeth Smith Baker and Christopher Jackson playing the bickering lovers selling appendages were recently seen in the Trustus production of Spring Awakening. Ait Fetterolf, who was featured as the lead in Kitty Kitty Kitty, rounds out the cast as the devious bellhop.

A Behanding in Spokane opens Thursday, April 19th at 7:30pm and runs through
Saturday, April 28th, 2012. All Thursday shows start at 7:30pm, and Fridays & Saturdays start at 8pm. The doors and box office open thirty minutes prior to curtain, and all Black Box tickets are $15. Reservations can be made by calling the Trustus Box Office at (803) 254-9732.

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

For more information or reservations call the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 pm at 803-254-9732. Visit www.trustus.org for all show information and season info.

PHOTO BY: Daniel Bumgardner
In the photo: G. Scott Wild, & Ait Fetterolf

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