Playhouse on Park in West Hartford will present Arlene Hutton’s ‘Last Train To Nibroc.’
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Playhouse on Park presents Arlene Hutton’s The Last Train To Nibroc, running April 26-May 14. Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder Sean Harris returns to direct this drama described by the Washington Post as an “intensely personal, but affecting play providing glimpses of an America weathering a crisis.”
Lilly Wilton as May. Submitted photo
In December 1940, an eastbound cross-country train carries the bodies of the great American writers Nathanael West and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Also on board is May, who shares her seat with a charming young flyer, Raleigh. Religious and bookish, May plans to be a missionary. Raleigh has been given a medical discharge and, inspired by West and Fitzgerald, is heading to New York to be a writer. Discovering they are from neighboring Appalachian towns, Raleigh decides to change trains for Kentucky, promising to take May to the next Nibroc Festival. A funny, touching portrait of two people searching for happiness, this simply staged romance played to critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Off-Broadway.
Starring in this production are Lilly Wilton (Playhouse on Park: Maggie, LEND ME A TENOR; Alabama Shakespeare Festival: Luciana THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, First Fairy A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, and Cinderella CINDERELLA; Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey/Next Stage Ensemble: Hermia A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Elektra THE LIBATION BEARERS) as May and, making his Playhouse on Park debut, Joshua Wills (NY Theater: The Seagull [NY Classical Theatre]. Regional: The Orphan’s Home Cycle [Hartford Stage], The Happy Prince [Long Wharf], The Tempest [Capital Classics]. Elm Shakespeare: Macbeth, The Winter’s Tale, Hamlet, The Matchmaker. Film/TV: Mindhunter [Netflix/ Dir. David Fincher]) as Raleigh.
Joshua Wills as Raleigh. Submitted photo
Additionally, Harris collaborated with Hutton on the script for Kissed The Girls And Made Them Cry for Hall High which won Broadway World’s Best New Work and was performed in New York City and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Hutton and Harris will visit Playhouse on Park for the Sunday, April 30 talkback session following the matinee performance.
Playhouse on Park’s Young Professional Advisory Board will be hosting a Young Professionals Night Out in conjunction with The Last Train To Nibroc on Saturday, May 5. A wine and cheese networking reception will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Playhouse prior to the 8 p.m. performance.
Preview performances are April 26 and 27, with all tickets priced at $17.50. Opening night is April 28 at 8 p.m., with a wine and cheese reception to begin at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$40. Let’s Go Arts, Senior, and Student Discounts available. Box office: 860-523-5900 x10. www.playhouseonpark.org. Playhouse on Park is located at 244 Park Rd., West Hartford, CT 06119.
