In THE OLD SETTLER, Two women test the bonds of sisterhood in a bittersweet comedy set during the Harlem Renaissance. JVO Productions in association with InterACT Theatre Company presents The Old Settler by John Henry Redwood, opening tonight, Sept. 1 at the Pico Playhouse in West Los Angeles. Check out a new promo for the production, featuring interviews with the actors, below!
William Stanford Davis ("Potato Pie" on the new Showtime series Ray Donovan) directs John Roderick Davidson, Crystal Garrett, Ruby Hinds and Jolie Oliver in the funny and moving story of Elizabeth and Quilly, middle-aged sisters who share a Harlem apartment during World War II. When a strapping young man, fresh from the backwoods of South Carolina, takes a room as a boarder, romance blooms between lonely 55-year old Elizabeth and the handsome young newcomer - and old hurts and new tensions surface between the sisters. The current production was first workshopped at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 2009. "The audience reaction was overpowering, so the five of us knew we wanted to remount it," explains Oliver, who plays younger sister Quilly. "It's been years, but people still come up to us because they were so moved." "The play is funny, poignant, and well-written," says Alan Naggar, who produces for InterACT. "And it touches tangentially on so much - the Harlem Renaissance with its hot music and swinging nightclubs, the migration of African Americans from the South to the North, even the impending civil rights movement."Alan Naggar is the president of InterACT Theatre Company. He is the recipient of an LA Weekly Production of the Year award for August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottomand an Ovation Best Production award for Wilson's Jitney, both produced under the banner of his By the Skin of Our Teeth Productions company.
Set design for The Old Settler is by Thomas Brown, lighting design is by Carol Doehring, costume design is by Grace Goodson and props are by Chuck Loring. The Old Settler will run Fridays and Saturdays @ 8 p.m. and Sundays @ 3 p.m., Sept. 1 through Oct. 27, with two preview performances on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. All tickets are $32, except previews which are $16. The Pico Playhouse is located at 10508 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90064 (three blocks east of Overland at Patricia). For reservations and information, call (323) 960-7712 or go to www.plays411.com/oldsettler.Videos