Vol. 18, No. 16Jan. 7, 1999

Prof's play on PTTP stage

Matthew Detmer of Chico, Calif. and Colleen Madden of Pittsburgh, students in the Professional Theatre Training Program, are cast as Josephine and Marlow in Rowing Into Light on Lake Adley, written by Jeanne Murray Walker, English.

An award-winning poet and playwright, Walker has created a paragon of romance and redemption in her latest play. Rowing Into Light On Lake Adley will premiere at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Jan. 15, in Hartshorn Hall.

Set in Parkers Prairie, Minn., in 1904, the play tells the story of Josephine, an aspiring actress, and Marlow, an enigmatic drifter, who find themselves entwined in a dance of discarded treasures and tender emotions.

Many of the poems in the book are loosely based on the life of Walker's real Aunt Jo, who married the first man who came to town in an automobile.

Aunt Jo's hopeful marriage, her years of sorrow and her ultimate resolution to find a place of balance back in her hometown are told in short poetic vignettes and also provide the basis for the play.

Additional performances of Rowing Into Light on Lake Adley are scheduled at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 19; Wednesday, Jan. 20; and Thursday, Jan. 28. Matinee performances are scheduled at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 16; and Sunday, Jan. 24.

Tickets range from $5 to $15 and maybe purchased by calling the Hartshorn box office at 831-2204.

Photo by Jack Buxbaum