PTAG Invites You to “Do Not Go Gentle”
The Punxsutawney Theatre Arts Guild (PTAG) has a show for you! It will be presenting “Do Not Go Gentle” by Suzan Zeder on Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16 at the Punxsutawney Presbyterian Church on the corner of Union & Findely Streets. Each performance will begin at 7:30 pm. Tickets at the door and 2024 Patron tickets will be honored. It will be the first of three shows the troupe will present in its 49th season and this one is a show audiences surely do not want to miss.
In this play, we find Lillian Boedecker Barron who is 84 years old, vibrant, funny, wise, and recently deceased! During her lifetime, Lillian shared a special, long-distance bond with her granddaughter, Kelly, and suffered an estrangement from her son Windsor, a Colonel in the Air Force, as he moved his family from base to base all over the world. After her death, Lillian discovers that she cannot “move on” until the rifts are somehow mended. Windsor and Kelly come from overseas to settle Lillian’s affairs and are aghast to discover that the walls of her house have been painted with wild, sometimes humorous, sometimes horrific murals and drawings. As they unravel the secrets of the paintings, the two make astonishing discoveries about themselves and a special relationship between Lillian and a neighborhood child. This powerful, poignant play explores the wonder of words and the transformative power of art as it offers humor and hope to anyone who is or has ever been, a grandparent, parent, or child.
The production’s director states, “We find theatre so rich and exciting and each production offers something unique. Sometimes we want to make an audience laugh and sometimes we want to make them think. Our other theatrical choices this year will check those boxes, but with “Do Not Go Gentle” we wanted to make audiences feel. There will be plenty of opportunity for that in this moving 110-minute play. hope you come out and see it.”
Bringing this poignant story to life are Debra Dinsmore as Lillian Barron, Ilona Fye as Joanna, her niece, Michael Shaffer as Windsor, her son, Peyton Stewart as Kelly, her granddaughter, Morgan Barrett, as Mildred Flumac, estate sale agent and Becket Cannon as Nobody. The director notes that “each actor, including the two children, brings these conflicted and strong characters to life. The powerful themes they convey will stay with the audience long after the stage lights dim.”
Alongside director Kathy Dinsmore on technical work are Matt Dinsmore, stage manager & sound, and Tom Cannon, lighting. Support the local troupe by coming out to see the production. They’ve worked hard for decades to provide local theatrical entertainment and are eager to add “Do Not Go Gentle” to the list.
Guild president Jef Dinsmore remarks, “I’m not just saying this because I’m family and friends to these people but as a theatre fan. “Do Not Go Gentle” is a story that was meant for the stage, and was meant to be told in this fashion. It is partly what good theatre is all about. It makes you feel. I dare you to come out on Friday, the 15th, or Saturday the 16th, and get caught up in those feelings for yourself. It will be a night well spent” To find out more about PTAG stop and talk with them after the show, contact them via www.punxsytheatre.org or by calling the Dinsmores at (814) 938 – 0378. Don’t miss out on “Do Not Go Gentle.”