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Special to The Free Weekly
It’s not every day Northwest Arkansas has the opportunity to go see a post-apocalyptic romantic comedy play. This is one of those times.
Craving Gravy tells the tale of two wanderers, Gilroy and Delroy, as they journey through a blighted Eden after the great “gorge,” searching for scraps and fighting for survival. Their quest for sustenance yields something far more magical than the four food groups and they discover hope and divinity in each other even as they dream of a new paradise.
Violinist Becca Ivey will be a special musical guest to contribute an experimental soundscape to the play.
ArkansasStaged, a collective of theatre artists working to bring contemporary and experimental theatre to life in unique spaces in Northwest Arkansas, presents a staged reading of Craving Gravy by John Walch at 21c Museum Hotel in Bentonville on Oct. 2, 2016, at 7 p.m. The reading is directed by Shana Gold. The performance is free with a suggested donation of $3.
Shana Gold, director, and John Walch, playwright, a husband and wife team, recently relocated from New York together as Mr. Walch is the new head of the MFA Program in Playwriting at the University of Arkansas. Several readings of Mr. Walch’s plays have been produced as part of TheatreSquared’s Arkansas New Play Festival.
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John Walch is the playwright of Craving Gravy, a post-apocalyptic romantic comedy that will have a staged reading Oct. 2 at 21c Hotel in Bentonville.
In addition to her frequent work with TheatreSquared, Ms. Gold has worked extensively in New York City at New York Theatre Workshop, Obie Award-winning NoorTheatre, Urban Stages, The Culture Project, and Women Center Stage among others. Ms. Gold is no stranger to Northwest Arkansas, having returned frequently to direct at TheatreSquared (4000 Miles by Amy Herzog, Proof by David Auburn, Underneath The Lintel by Glen Berger, and Uncle, a staged reading by Lee Blessing for the Arkansas New Play Festival 2015) as well as at The University of Arkansas (Spring Awakening). Other regional work includes Arena Stage, Theatreworks, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and Pioneer Theatre. In November, she will travel to Abu Dhabi with NYU-Abu Dhabi for Lameece Isaaq’s Food and Fadwa.
Craving Gravy by John Walch was the winner of the Austin Critic’s Table Award for Outstanding Original Script and described as a “metaphysical, magical, and challenging romp…a play of real wit and feeling” by The Met (Dallas) and a play that “pays homage to Samuel Beckett’s sparsity and humor, Red Skelton’s hobo clowns, …[exploring] what it means to be human when all bindings of civilization have snapped” by the Austin American-Statesman.
Craving Gravy features Ren Pepitone as The Charmer, Jonny Schremmer as Gilroy and Justin Scheuer as Delroy.
For complete information, visit www.facebook.com/ArkansasStaged.
Craving Gravy
WHEN: Sunday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., approximately 90 minutes
WHERE: 21c Museum Hotel: 200 NE A Street, Bentonville, AR 72712
TICKETS: Free with a suggested donation of $3
