MBS Productions presents a Revival of ...A MOMENT IN THE LIFE

By: Mar. 20, 2017
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Dallas, summer 1942: Two seemingly ordinary women, Willa Dee and her cousin Emily await the mail. National Geographic is doing a pictorial about American enlisted men training in the Bahamas, and they've gotten word that their husbands are featured in the photos. The arrival of the magazine and the viewing of the photographs open up a Pandora's tinder box of memories, revelations and family secrets.

As they reminisce, a mystery begins to unfold about a fateful evening. Willa Dee and Emily each possess different information about the events of what actually transpired. The arrival of family friend Euel, who holds the key to the mystery, sets ablaze their emotions which forever alters the course of each of their lives. Touching, bitingly funny, and ultimately tragic, this play will move you and at the same time comfort you as you discover how each life, regardless of how mundane, is special. The story is inspired form an obituary published in the Dallas Morning News.

The play stars Laura Lester, SElena Flores, Mildred Austin, Joel Frapart, Jake Bowman and David Durrett. It is directed by Charles Ballinger.

"The genesis of this play is rather unusual," explains Mark-Brian Sonna who is the author. "I was sitting in a coffee shop perusing the newspaper and I saw a very long obituary in the Dallas Morning News. It caught my attention because it was so long. There was nothing remarkable in the deceased woman's life except of the fact that her life seemed to have stopped in June 1942. While the obituary contained quite a few details of her life pre-1942, the six decades afterwards contained very little information. " He further elaborates: "That night I had a vivid dream that this woman spoke to me and told me her life story and what transpired that particular day in June of 1942. She made a reference to some pictures in a National Geographic Magazine. The following morning I went to Half Price Book Stores and found a copy, and sure enough the pictures she referenced were in the magazine. " This strange coincidental event is what inspired writing the play. "I felt compelled to tell her story. Is it pure fiction or did the story actually happen? I don't know. Because of this uncertainty I did change the names of all the people so as to protect the memory of the deceased woman, though in the play we do read excerpts from the obituary."

When the play first premiered in July of 2006 the criticial reception was nearly unanimous: Alexandra Bonifield from Critical Rant and Rave wrote: "...a clear and unerring reminder of how superior theatre art not only entertains an audience but invites reflection and inspires introspection. The audience members find themselves immediately and intimately drawn into sharing the joys and sorrows of the female protagonist. Her path of discovery leading to a startling, life-changing revelation is elevated from maudlin to universal level by masterful playwriting..."

Arnold Wayne Jones from the Dallas Voice wrote: "It's been said that everyone is the star of the story of his own life, and Mark-Brian Sonna's new play A Moment in the Life of Willa Dee Arvis sets out to prove that. Inspired by an actual obituary, Sonna constructed a story about the key event 60 years past that forever altered the trajectory of a woman's life...if 'Willa Dee Arvis' seems a bit familiar, it is intentionally so. The audience figures out the Deep, Dark Secret well before the characters do, which adds a tragic layer to Willa and Emily's ignorance. You feel for them...they are not villains, but victims of social conventions... the story succeeds in being genuinely affecting."

Lawson Taitte from the Dallas Morning News wrote: " his actors give the emotional climax of the play a suprisingly heavy weight of agony."

"I call it 'An American Play'," says Mark-Brian Sonna. "While the story is about two women, this play reflects the values and expectations we hold dear in this country, while exploring the detriments of these values. The women in this play live an idealized life, not wanting to face the reality of what is actually happening, until the reality confronts them in a way that they can no longer ignore. As Americans we do this all the time, we try to present an ideal image to the world, while internally there is strife. Other's see it, but we pretend that they don't. "

The play runs March 30 through April 23, 2017 and will be presented in the Stone Cottage Theatre, Addison Conference and Theatre Center, 15650 Addison Road, Addison TX. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, at 8 PM. There will be two additional shows on Wednesday April 19, at 8 PM and Sunday April 23 at 2 PM. Tickets range from $20 to $23 depending on the performance date. Tickets and more information can be found atwww.MBSProductions.net or by calling 214-477-4942.



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