It’s not hard to imagine how we’d react to a news report announcing a nuclear missile was heading toward the west coast, or terrorists were preparing to bomb NYC. No doubt, panic would ensue. That’s just the case in MCT’s The Battle of Shallowford opening Friday, March 16th at the Variety Club Recreation Hall in Worcester. Hysteria and mayhem ensue, along with chuckles and romance, in this two-hour play by award-winning playwright Ed Simpson.
In a takeoff of Orson Welles’s radio drama War of the Worlds depicting a large meteor landing in Grover’s Mill, New Jersey, this play is set in 1938 Shallowford, North Carolina. At Mock’s general store and post office, the night is like any other. As Ruthie Mock (Ashley Stadtfeld) longs for excitement and adventure, her father Burton (Brian McKay) tries to convince her to remain close to home. Enter the gossipy locals. When they turn on the radio, they take the news they hear seriously and become frantic. Martians have landed in America! Not wanting to wait for the government to respond, they jump into action and prepare themselves for battle in order to save the world!
The colorful cast includes science-obsessed seventeen-year-old Lonny Hutchins (John Lawrence), gossipy Clunette Campbell (Clark Van Hekken), humorous war veteran Roy Sprinkle (Loren Bittner), local football hero Dewey Sowers (Sean Collins), reclusive farmer Newsome Jarvis (Bill Thomer), Newsome’s son “Doodad” (Samuel Miller), and the refined Fred Martin (Kenneth Olin).
THE BATTLE OF SHALLOWFORD runs Friday and Saturday evenings, March 16, 17 and 24 with matinee performances on Sunday, March 18 and 25. Doors open at 6:30 PM for evening and 1:00 PM for matinee shows. All shows take place at The Variety Club Recreation Hall located at 2950 Potshop Road in Worcester, PA. 19490. The building is handicap accessible.
Tickets are $25 and include a buffet of hot and cold hors d’oeuvres and soft drinks. Coffee, tea and dessert will be available during intermission. Patrons are welcome to BYOB. Tickets can be purchased at https://methactoncommunitytheater.ticketleap.com/the-battle-of-shallowford
Theater/Organization MCT (Methacton Community Theater)
Theater/Organization Website: http://www.methactoncommunitytheater.org/
Theater/Organization Address: PO Box 26144 Collegeville, Pennsylvania 19426 (Map It)
Theater/Organization Phone: (610) 489-6449
