In the News
That's right... The Pinckney Players are always making a splash, both on stage and in the news.
Want to see for yourself what all the hype is about? Come see us in action at our upcoming productions. We look forward to entertaining you!       The Pinckney Players
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 From left: Nick Pettengill, Evan Norton, Sean Heslip, Aaron Jackowski and Nick Greene (reclining on the stage) are cast members of the Pinckney Players' upcoming production of 'Holes.' ANGELA SPOONER, THE LIVINGSTON COMMUNITY NEWS Pinckney Players fill schedule with 'Holes'
Posted by lsmith September 26, 2008 | Categories: Features
LEANNE SMITH The Livingston Community News Combine an ancient curse with onions, teenage angst, yellow spotted lizards and a dried-up lake bed and you get "Holes," the award-winning novel that's this year's season-opener for the Pinckney Players. The show takes the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 in the Jane Tasch Performing Arts Theatre, 2100 E. M-36, at Pathfinder School in Hamburg Township. Subsequent shows are 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and Oct. 11-12. "This is lighthearted and mysterious and it has lots of warm and fuzzy moments of friendship between boys trying to overcome adversity," said Laura Clark, who's producing the show for the Pinckney Players. "It's especially good for families with middle school children." The Pinckney Players are the first Livingston County theater group to get permission to perform this family friendly show locally. It also was the subject of a 2003 Walt Disney Pictures movie. "We take a lot of pride in being the first to bring a show to the area," said Lynn Wilde Concannon, Pinckney Players board of directors vice president. "We try very hard to keep bringing in fresh, new shows." "Holes" tells the story of Stanley Yelnats, an unpopular teenage boy who lives with good but somewhat clueless parents until he gets convicted of a crime he didn't commit. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time under a freeway overpass and got hit in the head by a pair of shoes that were stolen from an orphanage," said Nick Greene, 17, the Brighton High School senior playing the role. "He blames everything bad in his life on a curse put on his family by a gypsy a long time ago." "Holes" is the first play for Greene, who says he likes Stanley because "he's kind of laid back like me." Stanley ends up at Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp on the site of a dried-up Texas lake. It's run by a warden who makes the boys dig holes in the desert "to build character." "Really, she's trying to find a buried suitcase of money that her father and grandfather before her tried to find," said Mary Lukowski of South Lyon, who's taking on the role of the warden for the Pinckney Players. "This is her family legacy, and she's bitter and she's mean." Stanley befriends another troubled boy named Zero. Zero can't read or write, so Stanley agrees to teach him if he will dig Stanley's holes for him. That agreement eventually gets the pair in trouble so they flee into the desert and the whole mystery of the "holes" starts to reveal itself. Chris Brandt, 13, a student at Howell's Highlander Way Middle School, is playing Zero. Although he's been a veteran actor with the Community Theater of Howell since age 5, this is his first Pinckney Players show. "I found out they were going to do 'Holes' and I really wanted to be involved," Brandt said. "I love the movie, and I've probably read the book 20 times. This is really fun, and it's a great show." 'Holes' What: The family friendly humorous adaptation of the Louis Sachar novel that won the 1998 National Book Award and 1999 Newbery Medal before being made into a 2003 Disney movie. When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4 and Oct. 11 and 2 p.m. Oct. 5 and Oct. 12. Where: Jane Tasch Performing Arts Theatre, 2100 E. M-36 at Pathfinder School. Who: Performed by the Pinckney Players. Directed by Lynn Wilde Concannon. Produced by Laura Clark. Tickets: All reserved seats are $10. Prices go up $2 at the door. Advance tickets available in Pinckney at Busch's supermarket, 1277 E. M-36, in Hamburg at Pinckney Community Education, 2100 E. M-36, and in Brighton at Brighton Tuxedo Shop, 8692 W. Grand River Ave., next to Gus' Carryout. Group tickets also available. Details: Call 810-220-9332 or visit the Web at www.pinckneyplayers.com. On the horizon Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound," a dinner theater at Whispering Pines Golf Club on Feb. 13-14 and Feb. 20-21. Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" on April 18-19 and April 24-26. Auditions Jan. 17 for this production. Leanne Smith can be reached at [email protected] or at 810-844-2011. |