Calendar of Events
Flying Anvil Theatre: The Sunshine Boys
September 16-October 10
Thurs-Sat @ 7:30, Sun @ 2:00
Two local legends team up for The Sunshine Boys at Flying Anvil Theatre. The classic Neil Simon comedy stars David Dwyer and Steve Dupree as the titular characters: two aging vaudevillians who reunite for one last show. Director Jayne Morgan says audiences familiar with the two actors are in for a surprise. “This is Dave and Steve as you’ve never seen them. They are creating characters very different from their own personalities. It’s been fun to see another side of these two beloved actors and a great challenge for them as well.”
Dwyer and Dupree play “Lewis and Clark,” top-billed vaudevillians for over 40 years. Now they aren’t even speaking. When CBS requests them for a “History of Comedy” retrospective, a grudging reunion brings the two back together, along with a flood of memories, miseries and laughs. The show was a hit on Broadway and revived several times with actors such as Dick Van Dyke, Walter Matthau and Danny DeVito.
Morgan says The Sunshine Boys was to be the theatre’s official grand reopening. “Instead, we’re still limiting seating and requiring masks. Plus, we’re joining the other theatres in town in requiring proof of vaccination or negative Covid test at the door. Keeping audiences safe is our highest priority.”
Rounding out the cast are Nick Silver, Yolanda Treece, Casey Kain, Ashley Guthrie Baker and Philip Brady. Randy Thompson is stage manager, set design is by Steve Krempasky, Jordan Vera designed lights and Virginia Baldwin is costume designer. Props and set dressing by Jordan McCready.
Tickets for The Sunshine Boys are available at www.flyinganviltheatre.com or on the theatre’s Facebook page. The show opens with a Pay What You Can preview on Thursday, September 16, and runs through Sunday, October 10. (There is a second Pay What You Can performance on Wednesday, September 22.) Tickets are $25 and $27, $13 for students.
Flying Anvil Theatre, 1300 Rocky Hill Road, Knoxville. Information: 865-357-1309. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram, @flyinganviltheatre
