Culture
Mid-Ohio Valley Players Open 2013-2014 Season With “Everybody Loves Opal”
By: Bryan Gibson
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The Mid-Ohio Valley Players will open their 2013-2014 season with the comedy Everybody Loves Opal, running Sept. 20-Oct. 5.
The play, written by John Patrick and directed by Jena Lane Blair and Billie K. Harmon, features Tara Polan as Opal Kronkie, a middle-aged recluse and "collector" who lives in a tumbledown mansion at the edge of a municipal dump.
Into her rather strange world comes Gloria (Kathy Biery), Bradford (Kermit Polan) and Solomon (David Offenberger), three purveyors of bogus perfume who are on the lam from the authorities.
Opal's house is the perfect hideout–and Opal herself might be the remedy for their shattered finances. They decide that what she needs is plenty of insurance, a rapid demise–and three beneficiaries named Gloria, Bradford and Solomon.
Attempted murder wouldn't seem to be funny, but Patrick's script may have the audience laughing in spite of themselves, according to Tara Polan.
"I love doing comedy…it feels great when you deliver a line just right or do something physically that makes an audience really laugh. From the first time I read the script I just loved the character of Opal," she said.
Polan also had praise for her fellow castmates, who were responsible for the fun atmosphere during rehearsals.
"I'm going to really miss this group of people when the show comes to an end."
Everybody Loves Opal will be performed Sept. 20-21, Sept. 27-28 and Oct. 4-5 at 8 p.m. and Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. at the Mid-Ohio Valley Players Theatre, located at 229 Putnam Street in Marietta.
The production is sponsored by The Original Pizza Place and funded in part by a grant from Artsbridge. Visit www.midohiovalleyplayers.org for tickets and information.