Owner of The Starlite Room flexes his acting muscles in August play
Starlite Players adds Sunday matinee to “This Isn’t What I Expected,” a collection of four short comedies; Shows run Thursday-Saturday, August 13-15 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, August 16, at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
SARASOTA, FL: Tyler Yurckonis sat in on auditions for the July and August plays that would be produced by Starlite Players on the second floor of his restaurant, The Starlite Room. This was as expected. Then, unexpectedly, he asked producer Jo Morello if she needed him to audition. Morello knew him from his student days at then-Manatee Community College in 1992, where he was cast as Potter Palmer Jr. in “The Fabulous Mrs. Palmer,” a musical written by Morello and Diana Colson and produced by Manatee Community College Foundation. (Co-incidentally, Morello and Yurckonis also both attended Temple University’s School of Communications and Theater although at different times.) Morello welcomed his interest and stage manger Jamie Le Butrum handed him script pages. As he read lines before a panel of directors, Daniel Greene decided that Yurckonis would be right for the part of Martin in Jack Gilhooley’s play “The Session,” one of two plays Greene is directing. Rehearsals are currently underway for this and three other comedies that will open on August 13. The four plays, collectively titled “This Isn’t What I Expected,” will be presented upstairs in The Starlite Room, 1001 Cocoanut Avenue, Thursday through Saturday, August 13-14-15, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, August 16, at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The Sunday matinee has been added after strong ticket sales for the July plays and also in response to requests from potential audience members who do not drive at night, Morello said. She noted that all plays feature talented theatre professionals from the Tampa Bay area.
The August plays are:
WHAT REMAINS by Heather Jones, directed by Daniel Greene. An elderly woman is dying. All that will remain after she’s gone are her vintage treasures—not worth much to some but highly coveted by her nurse Muriel (Madison Jones) and Muriel’s friend Annabeth (Natalia Mock), who owns a vintage store. The young women fully expect to latch on to all the goodies when the woman passes but there are two small problems: the woman’s daughter and her granddaughter.
PETE’S PLACE by Betty Robinson, directed by Mark Woodland. Gabe (Michael Kinsey) is in a barroom suspended in the clouds when Verity (Mary Jo Johnson) enters, not sure whether she’s dead or alive. They discuss the sins of their pasts, await the mysterious Pete, and discover an unexpected connection that would have changed the now-vanished future for both of them.
THE SESSION by Jack Gilhooley, directed by Daniel Greene. Martin (Tyler Yurckonis) is seeing a young psychotherapist (Natalia Mock) who may be more psycho than therapist–or maybe her hidden background just gives Martin an advantage. Not exactly what the doctor ordered.
TALKBACK by Jo Morello, directed by Tim Guerrieri. In this verse comedy, acclaimed young playwright William Shakespeare (David Downer) thinks he has come to the Stratford-Upon-Avon Cultural Center and Little Theatre for a reading of his new play ROMEO AND JULIET—but Elizabeethe (Carolyn Zaput) and her intern Lady Jane (Madison Jones) subject him to a “time machine,” the electronic bearer of unwelcome criticism.
Tickets cost $16.50 and include a 15% discount on an optional pre- or post-show dinner or Sunday brunch at The Starlite Room. Tickets and other information are available from www.starliteplayers.com, [email protected], and 941.587.8290 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) For further information also see the Starlite Players Facebook page. (Please note the spelling of “STARLITE.”)
