By Arlene Hutton
Directed by Sean Harris
In December 1940, an eastbound cross-country train carries the bodies of the great American writers Nathanael West and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also on board is May, who shares her seat with a charming young flyer, Raleigh. Religious and bookish, May plans to be a missionary. Raleigh has been given a medical discharge and, inspired by West and Fitzgerald, is heading to New York to be a writer. Discovering they are from neighboring Appalachian towns, Raleigh decides to change trains for Kentucky, promising to take May to the next Nibroc Festival. A funny, touching portrait of two people searching for happiness, this simply staged romance played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Off-Broadway.
"NIBROC's jokes are funny and its couple endearing because their emotional struggles ring true." — Time Out NY
"…a blissfully sweet romantic play quite unlike the typical fare offered in theatres these days." — NYTheatre.com
"A character study that has originality and charm…Hutton's attention to detail (in character and period) plus her wonderfully authentic ear augurs well for her plays to come." — Backstage
Previews on April 26 & 27; all seats $17.50.
Opening Night: April 28 - wine and cheese reception before the show
Performances:
Wednesday & Thursday at 7:30 pm
Friday & Saturday at 8:00 pm
Sunday matinee at 2:00 pm, followed by a talk back with the cast.
Special: Tuesday matinee, May 9 at 2:00pm
Playwright Arlene Hutton will join a post performance talk back on Sunday, April 30th.
Playhouse on Park’s Young Professional Advisory Board to host a “Young Professionals Night” on Friday, May 5th in conjunction with The Last Train to Nibroc. Join the YPAB members for a complimentary wine & cheese from 6:30pm - 7:45pm and stay for the 8pm performance!
Critics Respond
-- Broadway World.com
-- Talkin' Broadway
-- Hartford Courant
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CT Theater: G. Danihy
LILLY WILTON (May) is thrilled to return to Playhouse on Park where she was last seen as Maggiein LEND ME A TENOR. Alabama Shakespeare Festival: Luciana THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, First Fairy A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and Cinderella CINDERELLA; Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey/Next Stage Ensemble: Hermia A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, Elektra THE LIBATION BEARERS; NYU, BFA Drama, lillywiltonactor.com
JOSHUA WILLS (Raleigh): Playhouse on Park debut. NY Theater: THE SEAGULL (NY Classical Theatre). Regional: THE ORPHAN'S HOME CYCLE (Hartford Stage), THE HAPPY PRINCE (Long Wharf), THE TEMPEST (Capital Classics). Elm Shakespeare: MACBETH; THE WINTER'S TALE, HAMLET, THE MATCHMAKER. Film/TV: Mindhunter; (Netflix/ Dir. David Fincher), Sqizo, Octopus, Cigarette Soup.
SEAN HARRIS (Director) is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Playhouse on Park. Playhouse Directing Credits: A CHORUS LINE, PASSING STRANGE, ANGELS IN AMERICA, CABARET, HAIR, OF MICE AND MEN, and METAMORPHOSES, among others. Playhouse on Park Acting Credits: THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP, THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES, and THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE ABRIDGED, which will be revived this season, and ART. NYC Directing Credits: The Barrow Group, The Producers Club, Theatre 22, and the Theatre at Westbeth. Recent Directing Credits: Western CT State University: Fifth Letter Productions. Other regional credits include productions at Florida Studio Theatre, Shakespeare on The Sound, and the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. Sean has directed three productions at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival including the world-premiere of KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM CRY, the first collaboration with playwright Arlene Hutton which won Best New/Original work by Broadwayworld in 2015. Sean has a BA in Acting and Directing from DeSales University and an MFA from The New School for Drama/Actors Studio.
ARLENE HUTTON (Playwright) is the author of The Nibroc Trilogy, which includes LAST TRAIN TO NIBROC (NY Drama League Best Play nomination), SEE ROCK CITY (Spirit of America Award) and GULF VIEW DRIVE (LA Weekly and Ovation Award nominations). Her plays have been presented at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Off- and Off-Off-Broadway and at theatres across the US, in London and throughout the world. Other works include HAPPY WORST DAY EVER Ever (commissioned by Cincinnati Playhouse and winner of the 2010 Macy's New Play Prize) and KISSED THE GIRLS AND MADE THEM CRY, directed by Sean Harris. A member of Ensemble Studio Theatre and alumna of New Dramatists, Hutton is a three-time winner of the Samuel French Short Play Festival, and recipient of a 2016 NYFA Fellowship and EST Sloan Commission. Hutton teaches playwriting in NYC at The Barrow Group for the School of Letters in Sewanee.
*Appears courtesy of Actors Equity, the profession union for actors and stage managers.
