GALION, Ohio — Stray dogs and various animals, an uncle-friend with memory lapses, a penniless gentlewoman, a generous taxi driver, a supportive wife and a determined daughter — see how they all work together in Galion Community Theatre’s Friday premier of Barrel Full of Pennies.
Director and theater secretary Nancy Herman said she is honored to direct this timeless work by playwright John Patrick, winner of the 1954 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
“We have a wonderful group,” Herman said of her cast. “We’re just down-home folk and you can’t help but laugh at this play, you never really know what you’re going to get here.”
Herman explains that Alicia, the daughter of Adonis Samaritan — a taxi driver that can’t help but house animals and humans in need — is troubled by her parents’ life choices, as they get in her way of bringing home an elegant boyfriend.
“She wants to find a husband but she can’t bring anybody home because the house smells of dogs,” Herman said.
The play revolves around this central theme until Alicia begins to fall for an unlikely suitor that her father picks up, a folk singer named Alvin.
Mary Kingseed plays Mrs. Mina Samaritan, Adonis’s wife.
“It’s a very, very funny play. The audience is going to like it very much, I think,” Kingseed said. “With a lot of plays you have to watch a while to get into it, but this one you get right from the get-go. We laugh and have a good time.”
Kingseed, 75, began acting 15 years ago when she realized life is too short to not do the things you like. She enjoys performing in one show per year at the Galion Community Theatre, but Barrel Full of Pennies might be her last.
“It may be … if there isn’t one I’d like to do next year. I’m 75 (years-old) and I think my time has come to let someone else step in,” she said.
Herman said she and the supporters of the theatre take turns directing the three plays per year.
Galion’s local group of dramatists, actors and play fans formed in 1984 and moved in to the Galion Community Theatre at 127 Harding Way in 1993. Herman said the nonprofit has raised and operated on nearly $1 million since then.
“It’s a wonderful group of supporters,” she said.
Community members look forward to the theater’s next show dates for The Dixi Swim Club, a drama about five southern women looking to reignite friendship. It premiers Friday, Feb. 19, 2016.
Herman also said the theater will showcase Young Frankenstein on June 17, 2016.
Barrel Full of Pennies starts at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, 14, 20, 21 and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 22.
For ticket information, visit their website.
