It is the near future, and Dick Cheney is president. Our prisons are drained of criminals who have been outsourced to another country. And those empty prisons have been repurposed to house our aging population as retirement facilities under the new Senior Provision Act (SPA). Social Security is no more, and how we treat our aging population is not ideal.
~Review and Photos by Dana Nöllsch~
The Story
SPA Facility #273 residents have a new resident, Joe Taylor, who is about to stir things up quite a bit. SPA stands for the Senior Provision Act, which, among other things, takes unused prisons and uses them to house older adults who don’t have any resources. Social security has been abolished, so as you would expect, many older folk have nowhere to go.
Joe finds his fellow inmates, uh residents, fed up with the fiefdom that Nurse Claudia has created, and they hatch a plan. SPA Facility #273 is about to get a holiday play starring the residents. This plan proves to be a bit harder to execute than you would think. But the residents are clever and resilient, stopping at nothing to have one last performance.
A Facility for Living is a comedy drama that is more funny than you would think.
Here are some photos to whet your appetite for A Facility for Living.
The Performances
This ensemble cast of A Facility for Living is most excellent. With the guidance of the director (Moira Bengochea)the cast and crew bring A Facility for Living to the stage in an amusing and yet dystopian narrative. This balance of humor and despair is something rarely seen in theatre.
The Bottom Line
Even though the theme of a facility for living is a bit dark and dystopian, the story is brilliantly written and delightful to experience. Combine the outstanding writing with the terrific performances, and you get an entertaining play that will both amuse you and make you think.
A Facility for Living
By Katie Forgette
Directed by: Moira Bengochea
CAST
Patrick Mink as Kevin
Wendy Feign as Judy
Kevin Michael as Wally
Jessica Johnson as Nurse Claudia
Terri Gray as Mitzi
James Winkler as Joe
Marti Creveling as Mitzi U/S (scheduled 9/29,10/7,10/13)
CREW
Asst. Direction: Tobie Barton
Stage Manager: Benjamin Browder
Asst. Stage Manager: Jasmine Miller
Scenic, Lighting, Prop, & Sound Designer: Chad Sweet
Accent & Dialect Coach: Rosie Brownlow-Calkin
Intimacy Directer: Thomas Rao
Fight Choreographer: Kevin Michael
Costumer: Moira Bengochea
Costume Asst.: Marissa Scharlau
Dramaturg: Luis Galvez
Performance Dates
September 22, 23*, 28, 29†, 30, Oct. 5, 6, 7†, 12, 13†, 14 @ 7:30pm
September 24, October 1**, 8, 15 @ 2pm
*denotes PAY-WHAT-YOU-WISH performance
†denotes scheduled U/S performance
**denotes talk-back performance
RENO LITTLE THEATER
Est. 1935
147 E. Pueblo St. Reno, NV 89502
(775) 813-8900
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