Elvis links together two one-act plays at Little Lake Theatre
Observer-Reporter
Elvis Presley figures into “Graceland” and “Asleep on the Wind,” two one-act plays being presented by Little Lake Theatre.
Courtesy of Little Lake Theatre
Lola Armfield plays Rootie and Noah Welter plays Beau in the one-act play “Asleep on the Wind” at Little Lake Theatre.
Courtesy of Little Lake Theatre
Jennifer Kopach plays Bev Davies in the one-act play “Graceland” at Little Lake Theatre.
Elvis Presley figures into “Graceland” and “Asleep on the Wind,” two one-act plays being presented by Little Lake Theatre.
Courtesy of Little Lake Theatre
Kodie Warnell plays Rootie Mallert in the one-act play “Graceland,” which is being presented by Little Lake Theatre.
An actor decked in a white jumpsuit is not going to burst onto the stage and break into “Burning Love” over the next week or so at Little Lake Theatre in North Strabane.
But the specter of Elvis Presley hangs over a pair of one-act plays Little Lake is presenting back-to-back. “Graceland” and “Asleep on the Wind,” both by playwright Ellen Byron, include the same character at different points in her life, and look at how her adoration for the King of Rock and Roll plays out within those contexts. Set in an isolated corner of Louisiana, “Asleep on the Wind” focuses on the relationship between teenage Rootie and her older brother, the artistic and sensitive Beau, who will soon be shipped off to the Vietnam War. Their shared love for Presley and his music is part of the glue that holds them together.
“Graceland” is set 10 years later, and has Rootie camping out at the front gates of Presley’s Graceland mansion, determined to be the first fan through the door when it is opened to the public following the singer’s death. She is joined by the brassy Bev, and the two develop a bond despite their markedly different personalities.
“The show is about so many things,” according to Joe Eberle, the director of “Graceland.” “There are so many themes, and it’s so dense and it’s so rich of a story with these characters. But it’s basically about how these two characters respond to Elvis. Their idealizing of him, what Elvis has meant in their lives. What each of these women do for Elvis, in their minds, is a really interesting study in celebrity.”
Mary Meyer, who is directing “Asleep on the Wind,” explained that, to the characters in the play, Elvis was a distant figure, “but he was the most important person in their lives, other than each other. And I think it is because of him both feel fulfilled creatively in an area that doesn’t have a lot of art.”
Little Lake Theatre is presenting “Graceland” and “Asleep on the Wind” at a moment when there has been an uptick of interest in Presley thanks to the Baz Luhrmann biopic “Elvis” that was released over the summer. Having been gone for 45 years, the number of people who are alive and remember when Presley was in his prime is getting smaller every year, and Presley has not attracted fans among younger generations the way the Beatles, Led Zeppelin or David Bowie have. Some media reports have said the demand for Elvis impersonators has dropped off, and the amount of Elvis memorabilia flooding into flea markets has gone up.
But you don’t need to know what Presley’s first No. 1 single was (“Heartbreak Hotel”) or what his last movie was (“Elvis on Tour”) in order to appreciate either “Graceland” or “Asleep on the Wind.”
“I was never a big fan at all,” Eberle said. “That just wasn’t the kind of music I was into. I’ve been a hard rock and heavy metal fan for most of my life. I got to familiarize myself with him because of the play and I listened to a lot of his music.”
He added, “We all have our rock stars, our actors, our musicians, athletes, that we see as heroes. We almost feel like we have a personal relationship with these people, especially with music, because music affects people so deeply throughout their lives, particularly when they are young. … Why do we get attached to celebrities? What is it about them that makes up worship them? What is it about them that makes us feel connected to them?… I think that’s a really fascinating aspect of the play.”
The show started last week and continues Sunday at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov. 20 at 2 p.m.
Tickets or additional information are available at littlelake.org.