‘Beautiful piece of Americana’
Cloverdale Performing Arts Center continues its 2018 season, Building Community through the Arts, with William Saroyan’s classic, “The Time of Your Life,” a true icon of American theater. One of Saroyan’s favorites, it was the first play ever to win both the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Critics Circle award.
The action is set in the early 1930s in Nick’s Pacific Street Saloon, Restaurant and Entertainment Palace at the foot of the Embarcadero, a place which looked a lot like the playwright’s own honky-tonk in San Francisco. But the real heart of the play is the folks who move in and out of this waterfront bar.
There is Joe, the rich young loafer; Kitty, the prostitute who desperately wants a better life and Nick, the owner of the establishment who has seen it all. Along with an unhappy cop, a bookish longshoreman and an old Indian fighter, to name a few, these characters create a gritty, often funny world which surprises with its portrayal of individual integrity, generosity and belief in fair play.
CPAC welcomes back director Arte Whyte, whose career started at the prestigious Drama Studio London at Berkeley. His credits as actor, director, teacher, writer and theater designer include Universal Studios Orlando, Nickelodeon and innumerable Sonoma County venues, including CPAC. When the opportunity arose to direct “The Time of Your Life,” Whyte jumped at the chance.
“This play is a beautiful piece of Americana” says Whyte, “and its characters offer us a moment to glimpse within ourselves.”
Join the community at Nick’s bar and in Saroyan’s words: take a look at the world with “the clear eye and kindly heart.”
“The Time of Your Life” is presented on CPAC’s stage April 6,7,13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and April 8 and 15 at 2 p.m. Admission is $25 for adults and $12 for students.
Tickets are available online at cloverdaleperformingarts.com or in person at Mail Center, Etc., at 207 N. Cloverdale Blvd., 894-3222. This play is generously sponsored by Tim McDonald and Bob Scott.
—Submitted by Kathy Walsh
