A June 22 FestivALL Charleston event will feature "Desperate Housewives" star James Denton, as part of the reading of a critically acclaimed play by West Virginia native Susan Johnston.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Fans of "Desperate Housewives," as well as original theater written by West Virginians, please take note.
A FestivALL Charleston event on June 22 at the Clay Center will feature "Desperate Housewives" star James Denton (Mike Delfino), who'll be among a quartet of actors in a staged reading of a critically acclaimed one-act play by West Virginia native Susan Johnston.
Johnston, was honored in April at the 30th annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards when she won the category of best play writing for "How Cissy Grew." The play had its world premiere at the El Portal Forum Theatre from October to November 2008, starring Denton along with his wife, Erin J. O'Brien and Liz Vital and Stewart Calhoun.
These actors, as well as original director Casey Stangl and Johnston herself, will take part in a staged reading of the play at 8 p.m. June 22 at the Clay Center as part of the citywide FestivALL Charleston arts and culture event. Festival seating tickets for the production are now on sale for $19 through the Clay Center Web site or by calling 304-561-3570.
"How Cissy Grew" tracks the implosion of a West Virginia family in the 20 years after their baby's mysterious and brief abduction. LA Weekly described the play as "piercingly painful and beautifully wrought," while the Los Angeles Times reviewer said: "Johnston's monologues for the guilt-stricken Butch, beautifully underplayed by Denton, are the show's highlights."
FestivALL Charleston director Larry Groce first heard about Johnston through FestivALL committee member Jill Watkins, who graduated with Johnston in the last graduating class of Charleston High School. "It looked to me like it would be a very interesting thing to bring in because it was written by a West Virginian and set in West Virginia," said Groce.
They hoped to get the original cast, plus Denton. "The only one who was questionable was Denton because he works all the time," Groce said. But the actor and his wife agreed to come to FestivALL for the reading which will take place on the Clay Center stage with the audience seated in risers on stage with the actors.
Best known for her plays "Old Woman Flying" and "One Girl Drummer," Johnston's work has been produced and/or read at Mill Mountain, City Lights Youth Theatre, The Jungle, The O'Neill, Manhattan Theatre Space, NADA, La MaMa, Provincetown Playhouse and elsewhere.
She is a six-time published playwright who completed a master of fine arts degree in dramatic writing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and has received a number of grants and fellowships, including a Jerome and a nomination for a Fulbright.
She has worked as a film industry reporter for Interview magazine and recently released her first novel, "Party Favors." In May, Johnston was honored by NYU with a Meritorious Alumni Service Award for her work helping to establish alumni programs on the West and East coasts.
Reach Douglas Imbrogno at doug...@cnpapers.com or 304-348-3017.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Fans of "Desperate Housewives," as well as original theater written by West Virginians, please take note.
A FestivALL Charleston event on June 22 at the Clay Center will feature "Desperate Housewives" star James Denton (Mike Delfino), who'll be among a quartet of actors in a staged reading of a critically acclaimed one-act play by West Virginia native Susan Johnston.
Johnston, was honored in April at the 30th annual L.A. Weekly Theater Awards when she won the category of best play writing for "How Cissy Grew." The play had its world premiere at the El Portal Forum Theatre from October to November 2008, starring Denton along with his wife, Erin J. O'Brien and Liz Vital and Stewart Calhoun.
These actors, as well as original director Casey Stangl and Johnston herself, will take part in a staged reading of the play at 8 p.m. June 22 at the Clay Center as part of the citywide FestivALL Charleston arts and culture event. Festival seating tickets for the production are now on sale for $19 through the Clay Center Web site or by calling 304-561-3570.
"How Cissy Grew" tracks the implosion of a West Virginia family in the 20 years after their baby's mysterious and brief abduction. LA Weekly described the play as "piercingly painful and beautifully wrought," while the Los Angeles Times reviewer said: "Johnston's monologues for the guilt-stricken Butch, beautifully underplayed by Denton, are the show's highlights."
FestivALL Charleston director Larry Groce first heard about Johnston through FestivALL committee member Jill Watkins, who graduated with Johnston in the last graduating class of Charleston High School. "It looked to me like it would be a very interesting thing to bring in because it was written by a West Virginian and set in West Virginia," said Groce.
They hoped to get the original cast, plus Denton. "The only one who was questionable was Denton because he works all the time," Groce said. But the actor and his wife agreed to come to FestivALL for the reading which will take place on the Clay Center stage with the audience seated in risers on stage with the actors.
Best known for her plays "Old Woman Flying" and "One Girl Drummer," Johnston's work has been produced and/or read at Mill Mountain, City Lights Youth Theatre, The Jungle, The O'Neill, Manhattan Theatre Space, NADA, La MaMa, Provincetown Playhouse and elsewhere.
She is a six-time published playwright who completed a master of fine arts degree in dramatic writing at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, and has received a number of grants and fellowships, including a Jerome and a nomination for a Fulbright.
She has worked as a film industry reporter for Interview magazine and recently released her first novel, "Party Favors." In May, Johnston was honored by NYU with a Meritorious Alumni Service Award for her work helping to establish alumni programs on the West and East coasts.
Reach Douglas Imbrogno at doug...@cnpapers.com or 304-348-3017.
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