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Nothing green about 'Whole Banana' play It's the dead of winter in New York City. Fran is suffering from artist's block, quitting smoking, and struggling to end a long-term dead-end relationship. On the advice of her Nicotine Anonymous sponsor, she tries to make contact with her "higher power" in the hope that he/she/it will make some sense of her life. To her utter amazement, her higher power makes contact with her, and, as a result, the world is brought to the brink of apocalypse. This is the debut production of "The Whole Banana," Norton's first full-length play. Norton says, "Theater 150 is a playwright's dream - where standards are so high, and yet, there is still room for risk and experimentation." Norton, who also plays Fran, studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. She then made the leap to New York City, where, during her six-year stay, acting moved over to make room for writing when the weird wonder of that city demanded expression. Norton eventually moved back to Ojai to focus on developing "The Whole Banana." This production also marks Kim Maxwell-Brown's directorial debut at Theater 150. Kim and her husband, Dwier Brown, built Theater 150 in 1996 and served as its founding artistic directors for its first five seasons. Kim has taught and directed numerous acting class showcases throughout the years, brought in many incredible talents to perform in several Solo Series, and produced Theater 150's first full-length, mainstage production of "True West," which Sam Shepard called "one of the best productions he'd ever seen of his play." Other cast members include Chris Nottoli
("American Buffalo," "Twinkle, Twinkle")
as Phil, Veralyn Jones (L.A. Women's Shakespeare Co.) as Georgia,
Charlotte Bronstein ("True West," "Human Chain")
as Mrs. Sarah and Shopping Lady, and Dwier Brown ("True
West," "Field of Dreams") as Hermes. |
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