'night, Mother preview by Robert McDowellRaleigh Little Theatre Preview 'night, Mother is a Pulitzer prize winning drama by Louisville dramatist Marsha Norman Raleigh Little Theatre will stage 'night, Mother, dramatist and screenwriter Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning mother-daughter drama, Sept. 12-14, 18-21, and 25-28 in its Gaddy-Goodwin Theatre. Triangle theater veteran Jesse R. Gephart will guest-direct this provocative play, which stars RLT youth theater and education director Linda O’Day Young as increasingly frantic mom Thelma Cates and Martie Todd Sirois as her unhappy daughter, Jessie Cates, who stuns her mother by nonchalantly announcing that she plans to take her own life later that very night. 'night, Mother made its Broadway debut on March 31, 1983, at the John Golden Theatre, where it played 380 performances before closing on Feb. 26, 1984. Nominated for the 1983 Tony Awards® for Best Play, Best Actress in a Play (both Kathy Bates as Jessie and Anne Pitoniak as Thelma), and Best Direction of a Play (Tom Moore), 'night, Mother won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for playwright Marsha Norman. The 1986 motion-picture version of 'night, Mother, also directed by Tom Moore from a screenplay by Marsha Norman, starred Sissy Spacek as Jessie and Anne Bancroft as Thelma. “I was introduced to ['night, Mother] in high school,” recalls RLT guest director Jesse Gephart. “I would go into the library before school and during lunch and just scour our limited play selection and became aware of playwrights such as Marsha Norman, Sam Shepard, Neil Simon, Arthur Miller… I was fascinated by Ms. Norman’s ability to create such powerful characters and such an emotional story in just 40-odd pages. When I heard RLT would be producing it, I jumped at the chance to direct.” Director Jesse Gephart notes, “['night, Mother] was revived in 2004 on Broadway with Edie Falco [as Jessie] and Brenda Blethyn [making her Broadway debut as Thelma]. For this production, Ms. Norman did do some slight text revisions to update the piece. Her comment to those performing the piece is to make the decision to perform it was a ‘period piece’ or to modernize it with the revised text. Our production team chose to use the updated material. It’s not very noticeable changes, just some alterations to modernize and connect with current audiences.” Gephart adds, “The play takes place in the home of Thelma (Linda O’Day Young) and Jessie (Martie Todd Sirois) Cates, mother and daughter, respectively. Jessie informs her mother that at the end of the evening, she plans on committing suicide. The play is an intense character study where family secrets come into light and the two women struggle to reach an understanding of the other in a true life-and-death struggle.” In addition to director Jesse R. Gephart, the 'night, Mother creative team includes technical director and lighting designer Jim Zervas, set designer Rick Young, costume designer Jenny Butler, properties mistresses Bridget Van Dyke and Trisha Cohen, sound designer Becca Easley, and stage managers Anna Nehring and Del Flack. Jesse Gephart says the show is set in a “relatively new house way out a country road. Upstage, [there is] the kitchen with fridge, stove, sink, cabinetry, an island, and a pantry, as well as a backdoor leading out to a mud room,” says Gephart. “Mid-stage, [there is] a slightly elevated platform which serves as a hallway leading to another part of the house. In this hall is located the door to Jessie’s bedroom as well as the attic stairs. There is a dinette area. The main section of stage contains the living room with couch, armchair, coffee table, television, etc. All is decorated comfortably, homey, lived in.” Gephart says, “Mama wears a blue house dress with lighter blue cardigan and Jessie wears jeans, sneakers, a button-up shirt and oversized gray sweater.” The show’s lighting is “Very general,” says Gephart. “The lights never really shift during the course of the production. We have several practical overhead instruments and a side table tamp.” Director Jesse Gephart notes, “ The play is performed without an intermission and runs approximately one hour 20 minutes. The play is completely driven by the two characters’ dialogue. One of the greatest challenges is to keep it interesting and engaging for the audience. Luckily, we are blessed with a Pulitzer Prize-winning script. “There is also a great deal of action that takes place during the play,” claims Gephart, “refilling of candy jars, cleaning out of a fridge, replacing sofa covers, etc., that working the blocking took some time. For our design team, their challenge became how to create a home on stage -- a kitchen, dinette area, living room, attic, a hall and bedroom door. We have a working fridge and running sink. They have worked tirelessly, and the product is really beautiful. [Set designer] Rick Young and [technical director and lighting designer] Jim Zervas have really outdone themselves.” Raleigh Little Theatre presents 'night, Mother Friday-Saturday, Sept. 12-13, at 8 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 14, at 3 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, Sept. 18-20 and 25-27, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Sept. 21 and 28, at 3 p.m. in its Gaddy-Goodwin Theatre, 301 Pogue St., Raleigh, North Carolina 27607. $18 ($15 students up to and including college and seniors 62+), except $10 all seats on Sept. 14th. 919/821-3111 or etix.com. NOTE: All shows are wheelchair accessible, and assistive listening devices are available for all shows. RALEIGH LITTLE THEATRE: http://raleighlittletheatre.org/performances/08-09/nightmother.html. INTERNET BROADWAY DATABASE: http://www.ibdb.com/show.php?ID=1007. INTERNET MOVIE DATABASE: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090556/ WHAT: The TRIANGLE THEATER REVIEW is a FREE weekly e-mail theatrical newsletter, featuring previews and reviews by Robert W. 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