ANNA MARIA – The Island Players, Manatee County’s oldest community theater, will launch its 76th season on Thursday, Sept. 19 with Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart, directed by Players’ veteran director, Mike Lusk.
The play, which won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize, as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best American Play, will garner every emotion from audience members as they are transported to a small Mississippi town to find three sisters who have gathered to await the news of their grandfather, who is living out his final hours at the local hospital. Each of the sisters is dealing with their own life problems, but despite the troubles, there are plenty of laughs as they work to escape the past.
Lusk has directed plays for the Island Players for more than 10 years, most recently, last season’s debut of the hilarious “Farce of Nature,” which left audiences in stitches. Lusk is known for bringing out the best in his cast and crew, while also putting his signature mark on everything he does. If this play follows past trends, this director shouldn’t disappoint.
“You’ll get everything you expect from an Island Players production,” Lusk said. “You’ll get happiness, you’ll get some thoughtfulness and have a good evening of entertainment. This play in particular should make you feel glad to be alive.”
Last season, the Island Players sold out most shows and broke attendance records. To avoid missing out, get tickets as soon as possible. Crimes of the Heart runs from Sept. 19-29. Tickets are available at www.theislandplayers.org, at the box office beginning one hour prior to the show or by calling the box office at 941-778-5755. The Island Playhouse is located at 10009 Gulf Drive, Anna Maria, on the corner of Gulf Drive and Pine Avenue.
