“Black Comedy” promises fun in the dark this weekend at Pellissippi State Community College.
Former and current Pellissippi State students along with members of the faculty and the community are putting on the production, which launches Pellissippi’s spring 2019 theater season. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday, Jan. 25-26, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. All performances will be in the Clayton Performing Arts Center on Pellissippi State’s Hardin Valley Campus, 10915 Hardin Valley Road.
Written by Sir Peter Shaffer (“Amadeus,” “Equus”) and first performed in 1965 in England, “Black Comedy” is a farce about what happens when the lights go out at a dinner party. (Part of the fun is that the stage lights stay on, so the audience can see everything even though the actors are stumbling around all over the place.) The play’s setup has a lovesick young man trying to impress his fiancée’s father while trying to return antiques he has “borrowed” from his long-absent neighbor, who has suddenly returned.
“It’s a great big silly, fluffy, fun feature, which gives our students who have taken a class on farce and comedy an opportunity to earn their chops,” PSCC Theatre Program coordinator Charles R. Miller said in a press release. The one-act play features a lot of physical comedy and was postponed from last fall because a cast member broke his hand, Miller said.
Tickets, available here, are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and $8 for Pellissippi State faculty, staff and students.
Music: South Carolina Broadcasters perform at 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, at the Laurel Theater. … Waynestock IX will feature a 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31 show at The Outpost before the main event Feb. 1-2 at the Relix Variety Theatre. The John Myers Band, the Abernathy Family (members of the Pinklets and Kevin Abernathy Music) and Grandpa’s Stash will perform.
Dance: Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 25, for “Jehanne,” being presented by Go! Contemporary Dance Works Feb. 23-24 at the Bijou Theatre.
Auditions: The WordPlayers will hold auditions for “Bright Star” 12-5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2, at Erin Presbyterian Church, 200 Lockett Road. Info here. Call 865-539-2490 or email for an audition appointment. Performances are July 19-21 at the Bijou Theatre. Leann Dickson is directing, and Sheryl Howard is music director. Lead roles receive an honorarium.