photo by Rob Sprankle
The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre is about to house a fresh documentary-style theatre piece called You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents’ Divorce. This show examines a social phenomenon that affects Americans daily. You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents’ Divorce opens in the Trustus Side Door Theatre on Friday February 20th and runs through Saturday, March 7, 2015. Tickets may be purchased at www.trustus.org.
Crafted from interviews between the original cast and their own parents, You Better Sit Down is a heartbreaking and hilarious account of the parents’ marriages and their subsequent divorces. These delicate parent-child conversations have yielded unique insights into falling in love, falling out of love, and rebuilding a life after the complex experience of dividing a family. The show explores each couple’s first meeting, the ups and downs of their marriage, their split, and the surprising perspectives on life after divorce. This show will be a distinct evening in the theatre for Trustus patrons as Columbia rarely sees documentary-style productions.
Director and Trustus Company Member Scott Herr will make his directing debut at Trustus with You Better Sit Down. He is passionate about bringing this material to life for Columbia audiences. “The script is a well-rounded piece – there are some very funny and touching moments in the show,” said Herr. “Even though the title of the piece and the stories are about divorce, I have come to see that the piece really wants to examine the nature of love and what that looks like in a marriage.”
Director Scott Herr wanted a cast that would create relationships with the audience in this confessional-theatre piece. The four-person cast consists of Trustus Company member Raia Jane Hirsch (The Motherf**ker With the Hat), Patrick Dodds (Evil Dead: The Musical), and Trustus newcomers Joey Opperman and Patti Anderson.
“You Better Sit Down accurately chronicles the phases of a relationship quite nicely,” said Herr. “What is really telling is that the show doesn’t sugarcoat anything. You see right from the beginning the quirks and failings in each person that eventually grow and become larger once they’ve married.”
You Better Sit Down: Tales from My Parents’ Divorce opens in The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre on Friday February 20th and runs through March 7th, 2015. A talk-back will follow the matinee on February 22nd, 2015. The doors and box office open thirty minutes prior to curtain, and all Trustus Side Door tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students. Reservations can be made by calling the Trustus Box Office at (803) 254-9732, and tickets may be purchased online at www.trustus.org.
The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady Street and on Pulaski Street. The Trustus Side Door Theatre entrance is through the glass doors on the Huger St. side of the building.
For more information or reservations call the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 pm at 803-254-9732. Visit www.trustus.org for all show information and season info.
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