A local theatre group is taking its talents and messages to Benton Harbor.
The first annual Twin City Players Theatre Festival will be held Friday through Sunday at the Oak Room in Benton Harbor, with a different performance each day. Friday’s show is a staged reading of the play “Clybourne Park,” a follow-up story to the classic “A Raisin in the Sun,” Saturday’s show is the award-winning musical “Next to Normal,” and Sunday’s show is “To Kill a Mockingbird,” based on the classic novel. Although the three shows are very different, they each have something in common: their challenging themes.
“’To Kill a Mockingbird’ takes some racial issues on, as does ‘Clybourne Park,’ and the mental health issues discussed in ‘Next to Normal’ are all very paramount to what our world is dealing with today,” said Paul Mow, director of the festival.
Josh Blair, a cast member of “Next to Normal,” hopes that the heavy themes of that show will still leave something positive with the audience.
“It can be a very heart-wrenching piece, so I guess ‘family is what’s important’ is the message that I hope they go away with,” Blair said.
Mow also hopes that each show will challenge the audience, giving them something more than a little escapism.
“It kind of turns the mirror on the audience a little bit, and says ‘What’s happening in your world? What’s black and white mean to you?’” Mow said.
Tickets for each of the three shows can be bought at the door or online at TwinCityPlayers.org.
