Bluestem Productions presents the world premiere of Back Porch. Written by Eric Anderson. Directed by Kelie McIver. Produced by David Willis and Kelie McIver.
While the Columbia Pictures movie Picnic was being filmed in a small Kansas town in 1955, another love story was emerging simultaneously. 18-year-old Gary (Isaac W. Jay) is at a stage in his life where he needs to figure out his future, as his sleeping town starts to feel too small for his dreams. And just like in Picnic, an attractive guy arrives in town to shake things up. Bill Holman (Jordan Morgan) is a part of the cast filming Picnic. He works as William Holden’s stunt double. Almost immediately, an attraction starts to develop between Gary and Bill. It is, however, Kansas in 1955.
The other characters are Gary’s widowed father, Barney Opat (Karl Maschek), Gary’s 13-year-old brother, Del Wayne (Cody Lemmon), the Opats’ bachelor boarder, singing teacher Myron Uhrig (Eric Zak), and their neighbor, Millard Goff (Jonathan Fishman, Daddy Issues). Despite their initial excitement for having the Hollywood stars in town, soon puts to test their conservative views. The relationship between Gary and Bill also unveils the limited opportunities the small town has to offer to its residents.
Both Jay and Morgan do a great job getting into their characters to show the nuances of a young and uncertain romance in the midst of a judgmental environment. Although the first half of the play feels a bit slow, the second part picks up steam and keeps the audience engaged. A story within a story, the play is a snippet of an era considered a time of affluence, community, and unity, but also a time in which Americans had little patience with divergent views, including attitudes towards same-sex relationships. Back Porch is, in the words of Director Kelie McIver, a love letter to William Inge, the writter of Picnic and a closeted playwright and novelist who fell into a deep depression and died of suicide in 1973.
Back Porch
The Victory Theatre Center
3326 W Victory Blvd
Burbank, CA 91505
June 2 – July 9:
• Fridays at 8 p.m.: June 2 (opening night); June 16; June 23; June 30; July 7
• Saturdays at 8 p.m.: June 17; June 24; July 1; July 8
• Sundays at 4 p.m.: June 18; June 25; July 2; July 9
Tickets: onstage411.com
Written by Eric Anderson. Directed by Kelie McIver. Starring Jonathan Fishman, Isaac W. Jay, Cody Lemmon, Karl Maschek, Jordan Morgan, Eric Zak. Produced by David Willis and Kelie McIver. Presented by Bluestem Productions. Creative team: Set designer Kenny Klimak, lighting designer Carol Doehring, sound designer Cinthia Nava, costume designer Molly Martin, hair designer Judi Lewin, stunt/fight choreographer Brett Elliott and intimacy director Amanda Rose Villarreal. The stage manager is Margaret Magula.
