Masters Hall Players

With the last performance of "Sabrina Fair" in June, the Masters Hall Players took their bows and packed up their greasepaint as their second season drew to a close. In addition to "Sabrina Fair," the 1996 season included "The Marriage-Go-Round" in February and "Come Blow Your Horn" in April.

The Players, part of the Georgia Center's Masters Hall Performances (which is also made up of the Masters Hall Singers and the Masters Hall Instrumental Ensemble, all under the direction of Roger Comley, Georgia Center associate director for hotel and operating services), presented their inaugural season in Winter 1995. The Players provide enrichment programming for conference groups as well as opportunities for emerging talent to develop their craft in an educational setting. Guest artists, established and recognized performers, add to the educational experience, serving as mentors and inspiring new and emerging talent. The plays also bring the general public to the Center, permitting them to become more familiar with the work done by the Center.

1996 Plays and Players

THE MARRIAGE-GO-ROUND by Leslie Stevens
"The Marriage-Go-Round" features as "presenters" a married couple--"Paul Delville," professor of cultural anthropology (special guest artist Robert Pine), and "Content Lowell," dean of women (Lisa John-son)--in a series of "college lectures" about relationships. Their different viewpoints are forced into sharp focus when "Katrin Sveg" (Eaddy Thomas), the daughter of a colleague of the professor, drops by for a visit. The play also includes the role of "Ross Barnett" (Hue Henry), a friend of Content.

[ CAST PHOTO ] Pine, perhaps best known for his role as "Sergeant Joe Getraer" on the NBC television series "CHiPs," which ran from 1976 through 1983, has appeared in a number of television projects, including "Murder, She Wrote," "Picket Fences," "Magnum, P.I.," and the "made-for-television" movies "The Enola Gay," "The Prophet Evil," and "Hoover vs. The Kennedys."

"The Marriage-Go-Round" was directed by Jerry Hargis, Georgia Center associate director for communication services, who serves as artistic director for Masters Hall Performances.

Right: front, l. to r., Eaddy Thomas ("Katrin Sveg") and Lisa Johnson ("Content Lowell"); back, l. to r., Hue Henry ("Ross Barnett") and Robert Pine ("Paul Delville").

COME BLOW YOUR HORN by Neil Simon
"Come Blow Your Horn" is the story of the family of "Harry Baker" (Rick Rose), the largest artificial fruit producer in the east. Harry's youngest son, "Buddy" (special guest artist John Arnold) sets events in motion when he tries to move into the "bachelor" apartment of his brother "Alan" (Speedy Arnold). "Come Blow Your Horn" also includes the characters "Peggy Evans" (Kathleen Karr), "Mrs. Baker " (Florence King), "Connie Dayton" (Suzanne Reamy), and "Aunt Gussie" (Salli Ruhl).

[ CAST PHOTO ] As special guest artist, John Arnold got the chance to "play brother" to his real-life brother, Speedy. John, a UGA graduate and former member of the Savannah City Lights Theatre Company, moved to Boston in 1994 to pursue a performance career. There, he has appeared in "The Good Times Are Killing Me," "Biloxi Blues," "Red Scare On Sunset," "Twelfth Night," "Spoon River Anthology," "King Lear," "How to Visit Your Mother," "Jeffrey," and "Jesus Christ Superstar." In 1995, John was an acting fellow in the summer program presented by The Royal National Theatre in London.

"Come Blow Your Horn" was directed by Martha Johnston, who serves as production coordinator for Masters Hall Performances.

Above: l. to r., Speedy Arnold ("Alan Baker"), Kathleen Karr ("Peggy Evans"), and John Baker ("Buddy Baker").

SABRINA FAIR by Samuel Taylor
A "comedy of manners" set on Long Island in 1953, "Sabrina Fair" deals with the involvement of the Larrabee family--"Linus Larrabee, Sr." (Hue Henry), "Maude Larrabee" (Jan Jensen), "Linus Larrabee, Jr." (Allen Rowell), and "David Larrabee" (Paul Rea)--with "Sabrina Fairchild" (Terrell Austin), daughter of their chauffeur "Fairchild" (Jeff Evans). Sabrina comes home from school in France to see if she is still in love with David, the younger Larrabee. The elder son, Linus, who has taken over the family business, tries to manipulate the lives of his brother and Sabrina. "Sabrina Fair" also includes the characters "Julia Ward McKinlock" (special guest artist Jane Kean), "Margaret" (Jennifer Wing), "Gretchen" (Rosemary Williamson), and "Paul D'Argenson" (Speedy Arnold).

[ CAST PHOTO ] A veteran of stage, screen, and television, actress and comedienne Jane Kean appeared as "Trixie Norton" in several incarnations of "The Honeymooners," with Jackie Gleason. She also appeared with Gleason in the Broadway play "The Show Off." She toured with Mickey Rooney in the play "The Laugh's On Me" and starred with him in the Walt Disney film "Pete's Dragon." Other stage credits include roles in "Steel Magnolias," "On Golden Pond," and "Driving Miss Daisy."

"Sabrina Fair" was directed by Rex Totty, a graduate student of UGA's College of Education and a former Masters Hall Player, starring in 1995's "The Tender Trap."

Above: l. to r., Jane Kean ("Julia Ward McKinlock"), Terrell Austin ("Sabrina Fairchild"), and Jan Jensen ("Maude Larrabee").

Masters Hall Players 1997 Theater Series

"The Pleasure of His Company"
by Samuel Taylor
February 6-8, 1996
"The Sunshine Boys"
by Neil Simon
March 12-15, 1997
"Bell, Book, and Candle"
by John Van Druten
May 15-17, 1997
For more information about Masters Hall performances:
Laurel J. Pracht
Office of Special Events
Georgia Center for Continuing Education
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602-3603
706-542-6524
FAX: 706-542-5990
prachtl@gactr.uga.edu
These pages and their contents copyright 1996 University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education. All rights reserved.
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