Southern culture will soon be in the spotlight again.
The third annual Theater of the American South in Wilson kicks off next week with its mix of performance, food, music and culture, Managing Director Gary Cole said. The three-week festival runs May 15 to June 1.
Photo courtesy Theater of the American South |
Quinn Hawkesworth plays Ivy Rowe in the stage adaptation of Lee Smith's novel 'Fair and Tender Ladies' to be staged by Theater of the American South.
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"I think when you go and see a play or you go and hear a musical performance, that is great, but you really get the full cultural impact when you can do an array of activities," Cole said.
The biggest events of the festival will be productions of Robert Harling's "Steel Magnolias" and a stage adaptation of Lee Smith's novel "Fair and Tender Ladies," said Barry Page, executive director of the Arts Council of Wilson.
"I love 'Steel Magnolias.' It seems to depict all of the wonderful Southern women in a town. ... I promise you that there is a steel magnolia in every Southern woman I have ever known," Page said.
"Steel Magnolias" will be staged at 8 p.m. Thursdays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays at Wilson's Boykin Cultural Center, Cole said. "Fair and Tender" will be staged at 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays.
The festival also will feature a free lecture series at 10 a.m. each Saturday, including one by Smith on May 17, Cole said. The lectures are at the Ragan Writing Center at Barton College.
Other featured events include cooking demonstrations by chefs Jason Smith of Raleigh's 18 Seaboard on May 17 and Stephen Ribustello of Tarboro's On the Square on May 24, free gospel performances and a dinner theater performance by The Playhouse in Wilson of "The Dixie Swim Club," Cole said.
New this year to tie into the festival's flora theme is a garden party at a private home on May 31.
For a full listing of events and ticket prices, call 291-4329, ext. 10, or go to theateroftheamericansouth.org.
