Pigs Do Fly Productions Presents INVASION OF PRIVACY

In 1943 Zelma Cason filed a ground-breaking lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize-winning author (The Yearling) Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Cason claimed Rawlings had invaded her 'right to privacy' in the author's recently published book, Cross Creek. The suit - the first of its kind ever filed in Florida - used 'the right of privacy defense'. At that time the state didn't even recognize the existence of that right.

Pigs Do Fly Productions will present the South Florida premiere of Larry Parr's award-winning play,Invasion of Privacy - the playwright's fascinating examination of the events leading up to and including the trial that had the entire country focused on one small Florida town. The production will run fromSeptember 9th through September 25th at The Abyss Stage in Wilton Manors. There will be a preview performance on September 8th.

"Invasion of Privacy is our first foray into a full length play," says Pigs Do Fly Productions Executive Producer Ellen Wacher. "This one is awesome - it's based on a real case and trial in 1940's Florida. It has great characters; it's topical and funny, yet it deals with very serious issues. And it fits perfectly within Pigs Do Fly's mission - showing the impact people over 50 can have on all our lives."

"I always loved Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' rich and poetic writings about Florida and the Floridians who made their lives from the bounty of the land," playwright Larry Parr explains. "I became fascinated by the lawsuit brought against her after the publication of her book, Cross Creek, for Invasion of Privacy - the first of its kind brought against an author. It played out against the backdrop of early Florida and involved the very people she wrote about, and it involves an issue that is very much in the news yet today - Freedom of Speech versus Right to Privacy."

The landmark case began when Cason, one of Rawlings' closest friends took issue with the author's description of her in Cross Creek as "...an ageless spinster resembling an angry and efficient canary. She manages her orange grove and as much of the village and country as needs management or will submit to it. I cannot decide whether she should have been a man or a mother ..." An additional real-life dramatic element was added to the mix in that Cason was represented by Kate Walton - one of Florida's first female lawyers - in a time when women were not even allowed to serve on juries in Florida.

Invasion of Privacy will be directed by Peter J. Loewy, whose production of The Rothschilds will open at Stage Door Theatre on September 2nd; his recent production of Stephen Sondheim's Putting It Together received excellent reviews when it played at Stage Door in May. He has directed numerous productions in South Florida, as well as at his own Forum Theatre, in Metuchen, New Jersey.

Loewy has selected a talented cast for Invasion of Privacy: Eight-time Carbonell nominee Missy McArdle will play Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, and Carbonell nominee Kevin Reilley will play her husband, Norton Baskin. Also cast are Pepper Thompson as Zelma Cason, Todd Caster as lawyer Sigsbee Scruggs, Jules Pisano as lawyer Kate Walton, and Kerry Sensenbach as Judge John Murphree.

Tickets for Invasion of Privacy are $35 and are available on line at www.pigsdoflyproductions.com, or by calling 866-811-4111. Performances are on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sundayat 5 pm. All performances will take place at The Abyss Stage, 2304 N. Dixie Highway, Wilton Manors, FL 33305

For more information about Pigs Do Fly Productions, please visit www.pigsdoflyproductions.com.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Lead Performer in a Musical - Top 3

1. LJ Benet - The Lost Boys, A New Musical

15.9% of votes

2. Joshua Henry - Ragtime

15.1% of votes

3. Nicholas Christopher - Chess

8.9% of votes

Vote Now! View Live Stats