SPTC opens season with “Clarence Darrow”

The Santa Paula Theater Center opened their 2005 season on Friday, February 11 with the one-man drama “Clarence Darrow” starring Ronald Rezac in the title role and playing through March 13. The season will continue with a modern day translation of Moliere’s classic farce “Tartuffe,” running April 1 through May 8, and being presented in association with the Ojai Shakespeare Company. SPTC’s third offering this season will be the touching drama “The Drawer Boy” by Michael Healy running June 17 through July 31. Ivan Menchell’s bittersweet comedy “Cemetery Club” follows, playing September 9 through October 23. Closing out the season will be SPTC’s annual Holiday Production, playing November 18 through December 18. Several season ticket packages are available by calling 525-4645. Clarence Darrow was a voice for issues that shape our world today; at great personal sacrifice he defended the underdog in such headliner cases as the famous “monkey trial” and the Leopold-Loeb case. SPTC proudly presents veteran actor Ronald Rezac in this one-man tour-de-force that WCBS TV called “Gutsy, exciting, and inspiring theatre.” This critically acclaimed play by David W. Rintels and based on “Clarence Darrow for the Defense” by Irving Stone will play February 11 through March 13 at the Santa Paula Theater Center, 125 South 7th St. in Santa Paula.Opening April 1 and running through May 8 will be a modern translation of “Tartuffe,” presented in association with the Ojai Shakespeare Company and directed by John Slade. A modern translation and adaptation by Freyda Thomas from the original French by Moliere, this delightfully funny farce takes all of Moliere’s legendary comic characters and transports them to 1980 Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tartuffe is a deposed televangelist who rooks Orgon and his family of their money and property. Written in modern verse, this delightful adaptation makes Moliere’s hilarious depiction of hypocrisy more accessible to modern audiences.Hailed as one of Time Magazine’s Ten Best of Theater 2001, “The Drawer Boy” is the funny, touching story of Morgan and Angus – Canadian farmers and lifelong friends who served together in World War II. When a young actor from the city comes to live with the two bachelors to research a play, he stumbles upon the key to painful memories locked in the mind of one man that ultimately unlocks the hearts of them all. The Toronto Sun declares “‘The Drawer Boy’ is a play about the healing and restorative power of theatre – perhaps the most special effect ever created for the stage.” “The Drawer Boy” plays June 17 through July 31 and will be directed by Fred Helsel.Veteran director Gerald Castillo brings Ivan Menchell’s “Cemetery Club” to SPTC’s stage September 9 through October 23. Once a week, a small group of widows who think the best of times are behind them get together to reminisce about the past and visit the graves of their dearly departed spouses. But when some unusual events begin to unfold, the women discover that their lives might not be over yet! This bittersweet comedy is a poignant and playful tribute to the art of living and laughing.