Update: Curtains Rise on Sam Shepard’s ‘True West’ at the Powerhouse April 15

This spring, Theatre Oxford will present its final main-stage production of the 2015-2016 season featuring Sam Shepard’s classic family drama, True West.

This production, directed by Kate Hooper and designed by Fel Macias, features an exciting and intimate set in which audience members will be close to the action of this high-energy theatrical production.

Actors Susan Hickman, Brian Whisenant and Greg Earnest rehearse a scene from ‘True West’ while director Kate Hooper looks on.

Featuring a small cast, True West examines the deterioration of the volatile relationship between two brothers. Brian Whisenant, who plays Austin, a screenwriter, says the play explores “the ideas of family, brotherhood, animal instincts, substance abuse, enabling, and what it means to feel as if you only have one shot left.”

Greg Earnest plays Lee, a drifter and thief who barges in on Austin. According to Earnest, “True West is funny and intense and one of those plays that actors fantasize about acting in.”

The play also stars Susan Hickman as the brothers’ mom and Logan Little as Saul, a Hollywood agent looking for the next great story.

The play is scheduled to run from April 15 to April 17 at the Powerhouse Community Arts Center in Oxford.

Brian Whisenant and Greg Earnest rehearse a scene in ‘True West.’

New York Magazine described Sam Shepard as “the greatest American playwright of his generation. His darkly comic plays frequently feature outcasts living on the fringes of American society. He has written over 40 plays and, in 2009, he was recognized as a master American dramatist by the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation.”

Shepard has also had an extensive acting career and had roles in dozens of films including Steel Magnolias, The Notebook and The Right Stuff.

For more information, visit Theatre Oxford’s website at TheatreOxford.com or by phone at 662-236-6429 or Email theatreoxford@gmail.com.

Tickets for the play range between $10 and $15 and discounts for groups are available. Contact Meaghin Burke at Meaghin.burke@gmail.com for more details.

Brian Whisenant and Greg Earnest rehearse a scene in ‘True West.’

Playwright Sam Shepard
Photo courtesy of Sam Shepard/Facebook

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