THE CHALK GARDEN Opens Tonight at Sam Bass Theatre

"The Chalk Garden" by Enid Bagnold opens tonight, April 11th at Sam Bass Community Theatre. Directed by Frank Benge.

From the author of "National Velvet" comes "The Chalk Garden", a play that is part comedy of manners and part murder mystery. It tells the story of Mrs. St Maugham and her granddaughter Laurel. Bagnold's plot revolves around a mysterious stranger, Miss Madrigal, employed as governess. The action concerns the gradual revelation that Miss Madrigal once stood trial for murder and the governess's attempt to rescue her teenage charge from her grandmother: the lying Laurel can no more flourish in this world of licensed eccentricity, than rhododendrons can prosper in Mrs St Maugham's arid chalk garden.

Revived to acclaim on the West End in 2008, this psychological chamber piece explores the secret world of childhood through the prism of a dyed-in-the-wool British dowager Mrs. St. Maugham and her precocious and equally eccentric granddaughter Laurel. When enigmatic Miss Madrigal is hired as household companion and manager, the two finally meet their match.

The setting of the play was inspired by Bagnold's own garden at North End House in Rottingdean, near Brighton, Sussex, the former home of Sir Edward Burne-Jones. The work has since been revived numerous times internationally, including a film adaptation in 1964.

Cast includes: Mary Southon, Lindsay Snyder, Gene Storie, Anita Teece, B.J. Machalicek, Raynelle Shelley, Rhonda Roe, John Iacoletti

Presented by Sam Bass Community Theatre

Dates: April 11th - May 3rd , 2014
Times: Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 8:00pm, Sundays 2:00pm
Sam Bass Community Theatre, 600 N. Lee St., Round Rock (in Memorial Park)
$18; $15 seniors, students, educators, military; $15 all Thursday performances
Reservations: www.sambasstheatre.org

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