By Marsha Norman
Directed by Jeff Augustin '08
January 17 - 19 at 7:30PM
Written by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright, Marsha Norman, this eloquent, moving and exceptionally well-written play probes into the past and present of Arlene Holsclaw's life. Recently released from prison, Arlene returns to a rundown apartment in Louisville, intent on starting her life over. Rebellious and disruptive as a young girl, she has found strength in religion and wants to put her youth, as Arlie, behind her. But her struggle to find her way in the present, as Arlene, is counter pointed by flashbacks of her past, as Arlie, her two personalities being represented by two performers, who appear on stage simultaneously. We meet the guards and prision officials with whom Arlie waged a running battle; the unfeeling, slatternly mother, the lecherous former prison guard, the pimp ex-boyfriend and the friendly neighbor with whom Arlene is confronted in the present. Ultimately the play, like life, offers no simple answers - but it conveys, with heartrendering honesty, compassion and raw poeticism, the struggle of someone fighting for life against incredible odds.