Serving Barnwell County and its neighbors since 1852
The third and final show for the Circle Theatre’s 2024-2025 season will open at the end of this month.
“Dirt Nap” by playwright Mark Aloysius Kennealy is a comedy involving an Indiana Jones wannabe who thinks digging up old mobsters in the Las Vegas desert might be a good idea. The mob does not agree and hijinks ensue.
Director Jeff Miller and assistant director Marion Young have worked together on several Circle Theatre productions, dating back to the Monty Python classic “Spamalot”.
Young directed another Kennealy play “Clown Car”, in which Miller and current cast member Dan Anderson were both in, back in 2023. Young and Miller have been talking about bringing “Dirt Nap” to the stage since then.
Although “Dirt Nap” was originally the idea of Marion Young, Miller agreed to direct so Young could take a less time consuming role as assistant director. Little did he know that due to a series of circumstances, Marion Young will now be on stage, as one of the main characters, while still helping to direct.
According to Miller, “Marion is young. No pun intended. He can rest when he is old and retired.”
Young was asked about his repeated involvement in Circle Theatre performances and said, in an appropriate gangster sounding way, “Once you think you are out, they pull you back in.”
Marion plays the reluctant best friend, who knows that you should not mess with the mob, and is the assistant director.
The rest of the cast includes the very talented husband and wife duo of Randee White and Nancy Knopf. Both also were in “Spamalot” all those years ago. Both Nancy and Randee have done several plays throughout the years.
Nancy was asked why she agreed to take on this challenging role, and she said, “It’s an avenue for me and my husband to spend time together outside of the home. We get to have fun while being creative and silly. Theater is a good time in and of itself, whether you are on stage, backstage, or offstage, but that is what I treasure most about it.”
Randee has worked with Miller and Young several times and keeps coming back for more punishment.
Randee is “happy for the opportunity to work with my lovely wife.” They have often been seen dancing together in between scenes. Many wondered if working across from his wife, while she was dressed as a man, might be strange, but that hasn’t slowed him down one bit.
It seems they have both really enjoyed playing a couple of old, lifelong gangsters that, appropriately, are like an old married couple.
Dan Anderson has been in a lot of the Circle Theatre plays recently and has worked with Miller and Young on many projects.
When asked why he keeps coming back to the Circle Theatre stage, Dan said, “Good times. It gives me the chance to get out of the house and be somebody else for a little while. I can escape reality for a bit.”
New to the Barnwell Circle Theatre is Emily Barger.
Emily lives in Hampton but agreed to bring her talents to the Circle Theatre after being begged repeatedly by the directing duo. She finally agreed and is doing a great job as the hilarious girlfriend to Young's character.
When asked about her theater experience, Emily said, “I have not been in a play in a very long time...I have recently stepped into the director role for several student and theater productions in Hampton... but wanted to stick my toes back in the water to perform onstage.” Jenny Hutto has been on the Circle Theatre stage before, and returns as a news reporter, who may have caused all of the chaos of this play thanks to an article she wrote.
When asked what brought her back to the stage after all these years, Jenny said, “I needed to get back out and have the chance to be someone else for a little while. That and Miller kept begging me until I agreed, but it’s ok. He is not such a bad director.”
She must not know Miller very well after all.
Frank Young is a recent newbie to the Circle Theatre, but is a veteran from the Hampton theater scene.
Frank recently played the judge in “The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge” and now is the crime boss in this play.
One word from Frank’s voice and you will understand why he was selected to play both parts. Oh, yeah, Frank is Marion’s dad, but he does not receive special treatment. Marion sees to that.
The play is a very funny look at what might happen when regular people decide to cross the mob.
Come see the hilarious results in “Dirt Nap”.
Showtimes are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. on May 30-31 and June 6-7. Sunday matinees are at 3 p.m. on June 1 and 8.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at The People-Sentinel newspaper office (22 Burr Street, Barnwell) Monday-Thursday from 9a.m. to 5 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. You can also buy tickets online at https://barnwellct.weebly.com/ticket-information.html.
Reserve your seats today before they sell out.
