When Words are Not Enough

Recipient of The Gold Medal in Drama, New York’s highly acclaimed theater company, Food For Thought Productions comes to SOPAC for an evening of theater with Oscar Nominee Danny Aiello, Golden Globe Nominee Lucie Arnaz and Tony Award Winner Marian Seldes.  Known for offering high caliber theater performed by the creme de la creme of Broadway for the past decade, the New York Times writes, “…three times a week culture hungry New Yorkers flock to Food For Thought.” This entertaining and thought provocative evening of staged readings will consist of three one-act plays, woven together by one thematic thread–how characters try to connect with each other through words but find that language is often not enough to repair the torn fabric of their lives.Mrs. SorkinBy Christopher DurangWith Marian SeldesMrs. Sorkin is a short comedy featuring a woman who likes to talk about theater. Or, more to the point, she simply likes to talk! And talk she does with a “verbal dexterity,” as Mr. Durang points out. Performed by the one and only Marian Seldes, this wonderful Mrs. Sorkin will make you think about language in an entirely different way.Steps Must Be GentleBy Tennessee WilliamsWith Marian Seldes and Jake RobardsMarian Seldes transforms herself into the mother of the poet, Hart Crane. Tennessee Williams thought Hart Crane was superior to most poets, including T. S. Elliot. He called Crane “the artistic peer of William Shakespeare, John Keats, and Walt Whitman.”  In this deeply moving and lyrical play (first published in 1982), Williams creates an imaginary conversation between the dead poet and his mother.  The Shoemaker and the TortoiseBy Susan CharlotteWith Danny Aiello and Lucie ArnazA shoemaker, played by Danny Aiello, is frantic to close his shop early.  A woman with a broken sole, played by Lucie Arnaz, is desperate for him to keep the shop open.  With the backdrop of September 11th, a pair of shoes on a shelf awaits the return of its owner, who will never return for them. Danny Aiello starred in the film version of the play which was called “A Broken Sole.” Released in the fall of 2007, Jeffrey Lyons called this critically acclaimed film “deeply moving and compelling…a daring movie that takes a lot of chances and comes up a winner” and said that Aiello gave a “bravura performance.”  The film was directed by Antony Marsellis, who will also direct the evening of one-acts at SOPAC.