By Kathy Collins
Theatre Durant of Durant High School will present BEAUTIFUL, CRAZY on Thursday, October 22; Friday, October 23 and Saturday, October 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5. Durant High School is located at 4748 Cougar Path in Plant City.
Ed Mason has been Durant High School’s drama teacher since the school opened in 1995. Mason is retiring at the end of the 2015-2016 school year, so this is a special year for Theatre Durant.
BEAUTIFUL, CRAZY was written by J. Patrick Moss. It is s comedy about a young man who is trying to woo an actress by telling her he is in a production that needs a leading lady. Her interest gets sparked and she agrees to see the director.
The twist is that there really is no play and the director is his best friend and roommate. The actress happens to be in love with the young man but she can not express her feelings. He talks his roommate into posing as the director. He uses the mental wing of a hospital as the theater and the mental patients as his actors. He tells the young actress they are all method actors. Things seem to be working until the head nurse, the security guard and the hospital director enter the picture.
Mason explained that he chose BEAUTIFUL, CRAZY because, “It is extremely funny and many parts are really challenging for the actors. One, for example, is that the girl must play a patient who is catatonic. This means extreme focus to maintain the blank look and being able to be put in different positions and holding them.” Mason added, “It is an excellent comedy that should keep the audience in stitches.”
In addition to this play, members of Theatre Durant are working on the Florida Thespians One Act Competition, which is held in March, as well as two other productions. Mason said, “This is my last year, and I am trying to make it memorable.”
For more information, contact Mason at edward.mason@sdhc.k12.fl.us.
