Limelight Theatre will begin 2020 with Horton Foote’s Pulitzer Prize Winning drama The Young Man from Atlanta. Danger waits just underneath the surface in this powerful drama about an aging couple still reeling from the death of their only child. Set against the backdrop of a rapidly modernizing 1950s Houston, the Kidders’ lives are turned upside down once again when a figure from their son’s past shows up in town. They deny, deflect and deceive in an effort to avoid the danger but can’t dodge the inevitable reckoning. How far will these grieving parents go to avoid the truths this young man from Atlanta might reveal?
Director Mike Beaman, a well-known artist and theatre teacher in the St. Augustine community, is working to bring this piece to life. Beaman says that this show “…is timeless. As we’ve explored the text, we are discovering how universal the story is. In our political climate, it helps explore both sides of the “MAGA” experience. We see the great America that Trump wants to bring back for both it’s faults and it’s surprising beauty.”
Alongside Beaman, nine local actors are working hard to create a beautiful, heartbreaking account that explores and dissects the American dream while revealing the depths we go to in order to keep ourselves safe. All nine actors have other full-time jobs or are full-time students. Rehearsing and performing at the Limelight is their form of volunteerism and an act of passion.
Limelight Theatre’s Executive Director Beth Lambert worked with The Stetson Kennedy Foundation, the production’s title sponsor, to select this groundbreaking play. Scott McLucas, Special Initiative Chair of the Foundation, was a producer of the original New York production of The Young Man from Atlanta.
The Young Man from Atlanta runs on Limelight Theatre’s Matuza Mainstage from January 17 – February 9. Thursday through Saturday performances will begin at 7:30pm, and Sunday performances will begin at 2pm. General admission tickets are $27, with discounted ticket options for seniors, students, and active or retired members of the military. There is a Preview Night performance on January 16 and a Terrific Tuesday performance on January 21 with discounted ticket options as well.
Tickets and more information can be found at www.limelight-theatre.org or by calling the Box Office at 904.825.1164.
