HALLOWELL — The Gaslight Theater will feature performances of “Not About Nightingales” by Tennessee Williams as its last show of the 2018 season. 

This early work by the revered playwright caused a sensation in Houston, New York and London. This is a raw, sprawling dramatization of real events at a Philadelphia prison in 1937. Convicts who led a hunger strike to protest conditions were locked in a scalding cell where four of them died. The sympathetic treatment of blacks and homosexuals was revolutionary for the time of the premiere and may explain why the play remained unproduced for 60 years.

It received a nomination in 1999 for a Tony Award for Best Play. The production at Gaslight is directed by Lucy Rioux, who also did casting and work on the writing.

The cast includes (charcater’s name followed by actor): Eva Crane, Sarah Wheatley; Jim Allison, David Moisan; Boss Whalen, Joe Blackwell; Butch O’Fallon, David Marshall; Schultz, Andy Tolman; Joe, Peter Diplock; Queen, Dylan Wing, Ollie/Guard, Travis Burnham; Sailor Jack/Mex, Gregor Smith; Mrs. Bristol/Goldie, Lisa Copenhaver; McBurney/Reverend Hooker, Larry Vinal; Swifty, Matthew Perry; Shapiro, Frank Omar; and Chaplain/Guard, Walter Guild.

Showtimes will be Friday-Sunday, Oct. 19, 20 and 21, and Friday-Sunday, Oct. 26, 27 and 28. All evening shows are on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday matinees are at 2 p.m.

They are also looking for ushers and box office people. For reservations, call 207-626-3698 or visit gaslighttheater.org/reservations.

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