Attic Salt Theatre Company stages “Blue Window,” Dec. 6-16

Press release from Attic Salt Theatre Company:

Attic Salt Theatre Company is excited to announce their upcoming production of Craig Lucas’ Blue Window, to be presented December 6th through the 16th at Attic Salt Theatre Arts Space. Attic Salt is coming off the acclaimed Talking with…, presented in August. Their previous work includes How I Learned to Drive, God of Carnage and Gruesome Playground Injuries, among many other local hits. Attic Salt Theatre Arts Space is located at 2002 Riverside Drive in the Woodfin area of Asheville. The performances will be held Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, and Sundays at 2:30om. Tickets cost twenty dollars and can be purchased through the Attic Salt box office at atticsalt.org.

Originally presented off-Broadway in 1984, Blue Window is an early work of one of America’s most-lauded playwrights. Lucas later went on to write the Broadway hits Reckless and A Prelude to a Kiss, for which he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Literature. Lucas has also penned the books for the musicals Marry Me a Little, the Tony-winning The Light in the Piazza and Amelie, based on the hit French film of the same name. Although rarely staged, Blue Window is considered to be one of his greatest achievements as a playwright, and is taught in college programs throughout America.

In this eloquent play, Libby, a socially awkward woman with a tragic past, reluctantly throws a dinner party for a group of friends, neighbors and acquaintances. As the drinks flow, discussions and debates ensue about everything from skydiving to family therapy to the merits of Topo Gigio. Connections are made and broken and made again as Libby and her guests explore what being alone, and being not alone, really means.

To put up this show, Attic Salt Theatre Company has assembled one of the finest casts of local theater luminaries seen in recent years. They include Scott Keel, who recently made a star turn in NC Stage’s Frost/Nixon, Christy Montesdeoca, one of the talents in Asheville Community Theatre’s hit Avenue Q, and Henry Williamson, who last shone brightly in HART’s Romeo and Juliet. Added to that are Josephine Thomas, star of The Magnetic Theatre’s Stupid F***ing Bird, Anna Klinikowski, coming off HART’s October smash The Bad Seed, and Edwin Glass, a relative new face to the Asheville scene. Rounding out the cast is the incomparable Trinity Smith, who has gained local fame with her terrific and often startling portrayals at theaters all across Western North Carolina. Attic Salt’s Artistic Director, Jeff Catanese, is directing the show.

Of his cast, Catanese said, “I’ve worked with several of these actors, in various roles, before. When dealing with such difficult, yet gorgeously-written prose, a director has to hope that they can attract the ‘best of the best’ to the project. I think we’ve accomplished just that, and I couldn’t imagine having a more talented cast to be working on this intricate ensemble piece.”

Although set in the plays original production time of 1984, the themes of the play resonate deeply now. “Everyone goes through periods where they feel they are not listened to. Everyone has experienced loneliness in the midst of a crowded room. As we currently have to deal with new ways of communicating (or NOT communicating), we still have to find those moments when real connections are made and hope that they last.

The production also involves many Attic Salt’s usual talented collaborators, with Abby Auman designing the lights, McKinney Gough creating the costumes, and Caitlin Lane serving as Stage Manager.

The producers at Attic Salt have had this play on their bucket lists for almost twenty years, and they believe they have assembled a cast and crew to do it justice. Especially since it will be the first full production staged at Attic Salt’s studio, opening up a whole new world of opportunity for them.

Tickets for Blue Window are available now through Attic Salt Theatre Company’s box office at atticsalt.org.