A Brief guide to the Piccolo play This War is Live

Preview written by NICK SMITH

What is it? A left-leaning documentarian investigates the Armed Forces in Iraq — with shocking results.

Why see it? Plays at Footlight don't get any edgier than this. This War is Live, directed by local theater veteran J.C. Conway, premiered as part of the theater's Late Night program this year. It immediately split audiences between lovers and haters of its movie-style pacing, heart-on-sleeve characters, Bush-baiting, and coarse language. An added dash of nudity and a streak of violence make this a memorable night of theater. As the performers interact with video sequences and documentary-style footage, a serious attempt is made to resurrect the grimy ghost of the Iraq War's early phases.

Who should go? With its ironic humor and fatalistic storyline, the show's aimed squarely at a younger, HBO-watching crowd. Its overt criticism of the war, the media, and the government will have liberals nodding their heads in agreement; conspiracy nuts will love the Deep Throat-style character, Mr. X.

PICCOLO SPOLETO • $15-$20 • 2 hours • June 6 at 9 p.m.; June 8 at 7:30 p.m. • Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St. • (888) 374-2656

The Footlight Players' theatrical production of Crowns is sponsored by The Hat Ladies of Charleston. The run will be accompanied by a silent auction where people can buy hat-related art by John Carroll Doyle, Sophisticated Whimsy, Chuck Wolf Galleries and over 40 other local artists and artists' representatives.

All money received from the auction will benefit the Footlight Players Theatre.

Ten years ago, photographer Michael Cunningham started taking black and white pictures of church hats, fascinated by the way that they regally rested on women’s heads. He was on to something. An exhibition followed the same year, followed by a book called Crowns: Portraits of Black Women in Church Hats. The exhibition toured, finally reaching the Gibbes in 2006, and an off-Broadway stage version wasn’t far behind.

Now the Crowns play will be performed by the Footlight Players, directed by Henry Clay Middleton (seen last summer co-starring in Piccolo Spoleto’s Denmark Vesey: Insurrection), and it’s not all about the hats.

Crowns features six women who are amalgamations taken from the 50 subjects in the book. Refreshingly, all but one of them are in their 40s or older, providing some strong acting opportunities for older local actresses. But a focal point is the youngest character, Yolanda, who is sent from Brooklyn to South Carolina to get in touch with her Southern heritage. There she encounters church life, Gospel music, soliloquizing grandmas and an awful lot of hats.

If a live aspect of Crowns sounds familiar, that could be because the CSO Gospel Choir performed selections from its repertoire at the Gibbes during the exhibition in 2006 – deemed a highly successful event by the museum of art. With Cunningham’s work growing in popularity, surely it won’t be long before we see Crowns: The Millinery Musical.

SHOW DATES: Jan. 25-26, 8 p.m., Sun., Jan. 27, 3 p.m., Mon., Jan. 28, 3 p.m., Thu., Jan. 31, 8 p.m., Feb. 1-2, 8 p.m. and Feb. 7-9, 8 p.m.

PRICES: $25/adults, $22/seniors, $15/students

ADDRESS: Footlight Players Theatre, 20 Queen St., Downtown Charleston, SC, (843) 722-4487

WEBSITE: http://www.footlightplayers.net/

Late Night at the Footlights

Here's an offer I couldn't refuse. This year aside from its regular main stage plays, the Footlight Theatre on Queen St. will be running a short Late Night season to draw a young professional crowd to the theatre.


Season tickets for this Late Night program are curently available for $30. Season ticket holders get 1 ticket to each of the three productions, a free invitation to special VIP events and $5 off a regular ticket to our main stage season. If you are not a member admission is $5-$8 per event plus $10 to come a see the show. There's also a special "date" package (2 tickets per show) for a lower price.

I've signed up so I get to save a few bob, go to some parties and support a venerable local cause. See you there!