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Season > "The Weir"
 "The
Weir "
August 30 – October 27, 2007
By Conor McPherson
Directed by Kevin T. Morales
Town Hall Theatre Company ushers in the fall with Conor McPherson's
The Weir, a spooky tale set in a rural village in Ireland.
The play is the story of Valerie, the new girl in town, who
has moved from urban Dublin, to a rural village near a weir.
She's moved to the village to get a grip on her life and a
respite from the horrors that had enveloped her in Dublin.
Introduced to the locals in a village pub, they begin sharing
village lore as a way to spook the newcomer. The tables get
turned when she shares a story of her own.
"Conor McPherson has been called 'the finest dramatist of
his generation' by the London Telegraph, and I agree," says
Kevin T. Morales, Director. "His plays are simultaneously
very simple and terribly complex. His ability to capture everyday
experience makes for exciting and disturbing theater. He fills
his stories with poignancy and humor, mixing it with the themes
of modern society unable to recognize the reverence of the
spiritual world. Every ghost story rings true, since the storytellers
appear to be normal, like us. They share fears of what supernatural
phenomenon goes on around us, that we, the audience, have
considered at some point in our lives. If not in our current
modern life, but then when we were children and more in touch
with the invisible."
"Audiences love a good ghost story," says Dennis Erokan,
Board President. "The Weir is the kind of story that sounds
familiar and that familiarity makes it ring true. We have
a very talented cast for the new take on old-fashioned Irish
storytelling. This play is perfect to see on an autumn night.
Our bartender will be pouring Guinness, whiskey, and Harp
Ale along with the other beverages in our fully stocked bar.
And as usual, you are welcome to take your drink and snacks
with you to your seat."
About the Cast and Crew:
Valerie is played by Katie Pelensky who is doing her
second show at Town Hall Theatre Company, after Lend Me
a Tenor in the spring. Valerie is a recent graduate of
Santa Clara University's Theatre Arts program and has appeared
in past productions of The Shadowbox, King Lear,
Stop Kiss and others.
Jack is played by Warren McClure, returning to the
Town Hall Theatre stage after his last appearance in the award-winning
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Warren has also appeared
in The Music Man (Diablo Light Opera Company), Cabaret,
Godspell and many other plays. He is a member of Actors'
Equity and Theatre Bay Area.
Jim is played by Sean Robert Griffin who also appeared
in Town Hall's Bleacher
Bums. Sean appeared as Sterling for Town Hall's Let's
go to the Movies Redux and reprised the role in the recent
Let's Go to Casablanca. Sean is a member of Actors'
Equity.
Finbar is played by Eric Neiman in his first show
at Town Hall Theatre Company. Eric has been performing and
directing in the Bay Area for over 20 years, most recently
directing Death Trap at Pleasanton Playhouse, acting
in CCT's Sweeney Todd and in DLOC's Thoroughly Modern
Millie.
Brendan is played by Henry Perkins, fresh from Bleacher
Bums at Town Hall and returning after appearing as
Max in Lend Me a Tenor, Henry in Design for Living,
and Eddie/Dr. Scott in Rocky Horror Show. Other favorite
roles include Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Jim Farrell in Titanic and Kenickie in Grease,
all for CCMT. Henry has worked with the Kaiser Permanente
Educational Theatre Program, is a member of the Fantasy Forum
Actors Ensemble, and teaches for Town Hall Kids' Bravo program.
The show is directed by Kevin T. Morales, who attended
New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, majoring in
directing. His Venus Rising Company has received Bay Area
Critics Circle Nominations, Best Revival of a Musical by the
San Francisco Chronicle and Best Director by the Contra Costa
Times. Kevin was named one of the top 21 Visionaries of the
Twenty First Century by Diablo Magazine and recently directed
The Rocky Horror Show, Copenhagen and wrote and directed
Let's Go to Casablanca to rave reviews.
About Town Hall Theatre Company of Lafayette
Established in 1944 as the Dramateurs and reorganized in
1992 as Town Hall Theatre Company of Lafayette, Lafayette
Town Hall Theatre Company is the oldest continuously active
theater in Contra Costa County. The Company is a professionally
managed non-profit organization supported by a volunteer Board
of Directors drawn from the leaders of local businesses and
the surrounding artistic community. In its more than sixty
years, the Lafayette Town Hall Theatre Company has won nearly
40 Shellie Awards, including the Best Production in Contra
Costa County, Best Actor/Actress in a Play, Best Actor/Actress
in a Musical, Best Director of a Musical. Over its history,
major renovations have been completed to the historical Town
Hall facility, including the addition of air conditioning,
repositioning of the seating area, installation of new seats,
and installation of an elevator. All these factors make Town
Hall an exciting and intimate place to enjoy a fine evening
of live theatre - one reason that in both 2002 and 2003, Diablo
Magazine Readers voted Town Hall Theatre Company the Best
Small Theatre Group in the East Bay.
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