MJC Theater stages “Four Seasons” by Michael Lynch
The Modesto Junior College Theater Department presents “Four Seasons” - four original one act plays written and directed by Professor Michael Lynch on May 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 at 7 p.m. in the Cabaret West Theatre of the El Capitan Building on West Campus, 2201 Blue Gum Avenue, Modesto.
The evening begins with “Rachel & Louise,” featuring the characters Rachel Peabody
and Louise Skaggs who originated in Lynch’s full-length play “San Joaquin Blues,”
which was produced last year at MJC. Several people expressed an interest in seeing
more of these two characters, so Lynch wrote this one act that takes them from Coalinga,
California and ages them from 16 to 87 in only 40 minutes playing time. The roles
are played by the same actresses, Bev Barney and Robin Bjerke, as in “San Joaquin
Blues.”
The second piece - "Sleeping Bag" - is a ten-minute farce that Lynch wrote as a playwright-in-residence with the One Act Theatre Company of San Francisco. He adapted it for this production for roles acted by Erica DeHart and Tanner Honor, as they play two indiscrete lovers who get stuck in a sleeping bag to begin their affair.
The second half of the production begins with a 15 minute piece about a recent widow out in the Brooklyn Cemetery saying goodbye to her recently departed husband. Lynch wrote this work for his life-partner, Francine Lameire, who is from Brooklyn and who plays the part.
The last play is a 45 minute ode to Quentin Tarantino called “A Book of Glass,” (expect some adult language.) It is about a hit man who has his crew kidnap a famous television evangelist to heal his dying daughter. The cast includes Billy Gene as Paulie, the boss; Bear Unruh, Michael Luciano McGrath, Antdog Francis, Kyle Amador, Luis Maya, Frances Domingos, Kevin Ameri as his crew, and Tanner Honor as Billy Blessing, the evangelist.
Tickets are $11 general admission and $9 for students and senior citizens. Tickets
may be purchased in advance online at http://mjc.tix.com and are also available at the Cabaret West Theatre beginning 90 minutes prior to
each performance. The production includes some adult themes and language and is not
recommended for children.