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What happens when a lesbian god seduces a group of housewives in suburban New Jersey to restore the earth to its natural state? Pure theatrical chaos.
Carbondale’s Thunder River Theatre Co. takes on the comedy whirlwind, presenting its main stage production, “Hurricane Diane,” to kick off the 2022-2023 season.
The show kicks off on Friday and will run until October 16 for three weekends, with screenings scheduled from Thursday to Sunday. Tonight’s show starts at 7:30pm and Sunday’s show starts at 2pm. Tickets are $35 (endorsement option available) and can be purchased through the TRTC website.
Hurricane Diane, written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George, tells the story of the Greek god Dionysus’ return to the modern world in a quest to gather a mortal following and restore Earth’s environment. story. Disguised as a sexy permaculture gardener by the name of Diane, the modern goddess comes to a dead end in New Jersey on a mission that begins with four suburban housewives.
TRTC’s “Hurricane Diane” is directed by Beth Malone, who first saw the unconventional comedy at its 2019 New York Theater Studio premiere. Intrigued by the show’s humorous plot and pondering its unshakable themes, Malone – herself, Tony Award – TRTC executive director Sean Jeffries, said the nominee Broadway actor – had a great deal of interest in “Hurricane Hurricane”. Diane” fell in love at first sight.
Jeffries explained that Malone pitched the work to TRTC a few years ago, but couldn’t make it happen due to COVID-19, and recalled reading the script for the first time with laughter.
“Few scripts are so interesting on the page and incorporate these larger human themes throughout the story,” Jeffries said. “It’s an off-the-page show.”
When it comes to TRTC’s “Hurricane Diane,” Jeffries credits Malone’s director and the show’s five talented female actors for the show’s energetic leap to the stage. He said that each actor performed her role brilliantly.
“Each character has its own game, its own personality,” Jeffries said. “And everyone did a good job of maintaining the normality of calm and rhythm for the first 60 minutes of the game…then it went off track.”
The executive director went on to explain how the show’s detailed characterization and derailment were further enhanced by dramatic elements such as costumes and set design.
Viewers may recognize some performers from local theaters in the valley, including TRTC artistic director Miss Moore, who plays family wife Pam, and Sun Theater Company executive director Jennifer Johnson, who plays Renee.
Actress Julia Whalen (Beth) is a newcomer to Roaring Fork and has performed at the Sopris Theatre Company and Aspen Community Theatre. “Hurricane Diane” marks Whalen’s TRTC debut. New York-based stock actor Traci Bair joins the female talent team as The Last Housewives of Jersey character Carol.
Playing Diane is Susannah McLeod, who embodies the role of modern Dionysus wholeheartedly, bringing brutal realism to the character.
Jeffries mentioned that both McLeod and Malone identify as lesbian, and that it was important for everyone on TRTC’s “Hurricane Diane” production board to have an authentic representation from the lesbian community.
“We wanted to make sure we had a natural lesbian voice on the show. If we didn’t, it wouldn’t read as well,” Jeffries said. “And we don’t want someone playing Diane who doesn’t represent the community – that would be an inappropriate voice.”
In the TRTC announcement, Malone expressed the importance of gender identity representation and said that a “charm factory” that realistically portrays Diane’s character was crucial in the casting process.
“Suzanne McLeod sent me the audition tape, and I said, yeah, she,” Malone said.
Malone described “Hurricane Diane” as “a big question for all of us Americans who are spoiled and want what we want,” she said in the announcement.
“It makes you think without putting you on the defensive,” commented the director. “It just makes you ask yourself and each other those big questions, and just laugh it off.”
TRTC’s “Hurricane Diane” is a play full of humor and an uplifting message, designed to bring audiences to the edge of their seats, laughing, and then leave the theater in a reflective state.
“I want people to laugh it off on this show,” Jeffries said. “But I also hope that the themes of recovery and environment-centric thinking are common enough that people leave looking to help improve the overall state of the planet in their daily lives.”
Theater companies invest heavily in environmental information for their shows. Malone emphasized at the launch that TRTC’s “Hurricane Diane” is zero plastic production.
“During rehearsals for this event, we never brought single-use plastic containers to the venue. [Audiences] It would feel good to buy that ticket and support what we’re talking about,” Malone said. “I think hope is something. [the play] Can inspire, I hope it does. “
For more information on the TRTC main stage season or to purchase tickets for Hurricane Diane, visit Thunder River Theater Network.
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