Friendship, love and Lennon
Advertisement
Text size: small | medium | large
Sage Merritt / News Virginian
Published: January 31, 2008
"All she wants is to be loved," said McDaniel, of her character, Star, the main role in ShenanArts' newest play. "She never really had it until her roommate shows her what it's like to have a friend."
In "John Lennon and Me," opening Friday at Stage 4 Theater in Verona, the Lennon-obsessed Star tries to balance her teenage hopes and dreams with the reality of her life as a sufferer of cystic fibrosis, a life-shortening inherited disease. During a stay at a children's hospital, she gets a roommate, Courtney (played by Kyla Daniel), who at first seems to be Star's exact opposite. However, over time the girls learn to overcome their differences and friendship blossoms, even as the characters deal with their own mortality.
"We call it a seriocomedy," McDaniel said. "It has a lot of funny parts, but also has serious parts. There's a lot of really good acting."
Contrary to the play's title, John Lennon doesn't actually appear as character in "John Lennon and Me," although the show is infused with his music and he is frequently quoted in the dialogue of "The Flunkies," a group of dancing hipsters who exist only in Star's mind.
"I like to call it a play with music and dance," said "John Lennon and Me" director Jeff McDaniel. "It's not a musical in the true sense, but it does have a lot of music. I always try to work music in to everything I do."
Jeff McDaniel, whose previous directing credits for ShenanArts include "Always, Patsy Cline," "Seussical" and "Who Killed Elvis-," felt that "John Lennon and Me" was a great play to showcase the acting talent of his veteran cast members, including Cori McDaniel, Kyla Daniel, Aaron Crosby, Matthew Riley, Ned Green, Jasmine Williams and Audrey Stadler.
"This has a real serious tone to it," Jeff McDaniel said. "A lot of what we do here [at ShenanArts] is musicals, and with this play they don't have to hide behind the music - they can really act.
"I like to say that the only thing that keeps many of these kids from being professionals is that we don't give them a paycheck," the director added. "They are really, really passionate, and wonderful actors. This is their life, for most of them."
The message of "John Lennon and Me" - "It's about acceptance and love. You should treat everyone the same, no matter what," said Cori McDaniel - inspired many of the cast members to reach out to those who face similar challenges as Star and other characters at the children's hospital in "John Lennon and Me." The cast visited the Kluge Children's Rehabilitation Center at U.Va., and proceeds from a raffle to be held in conjunction with the play will benefit the center.
"They got to see that this is really real for some kids," Jeff McDaniel said.
"John Lennon and Me" will be featured at Stage 4 Theatre in Verona from Feb. 1-3 and 8-10, with showtimes at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday nights and Sunday mantinees at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 reserved, $10 adult general admission and $5 student general admission. General admission tickets can be purchased at The Bookstack and You're a Star in Staunton and Daily Grind and Shear Dimensions in Waynesboro. Reserved and general admission tickets can be purchased by calling 540-248-1868.
Post a Comment
The commenting period has ended or commenting has been deactivated for this article.
Can't find what you're looking for? Try our quick search:
