Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The Kitchen Theatre Company’s 20th Anniversary continues with the regional premiere of The Tricky Part by Marty Moran. The Tricky Part has previews on March 23, 24, and 25. Opening Night is March 26, and performances continue through April 10, 2011. This show is recommended for ages sixteen and up.

The Tricky Part is a true story in the hands of a master storyteller. In the tradition of Spaulding Gray, Marty Moran’s The Tricky Part combines the immediacy and emotion of a real-life experience with the wisdom and thoughtfulness provided by the passage of time. This one-man play, performed by NYC actor Carl Danielsen, takes you on a journey from the madness of a tricky situation, through a tangle of conflicting actions and desires, and ultimately to a place of new understanding. All this is accomplished in a single spotlight with minimal props - just a vivid performance with tremendous heart. The Tricky Part is a moving story, infused with humor and courage about a tough subject.

The play begins with 12-year-old Marty growing up in an exemplary Irish Catholic family. They live in the Denver neighborhood of Virginia Vale, but they belong to Christ the King, the church and Catholic school up the hill. As a good Catholic boy, Marty absorbed the teachings of the nuns and priests, confused by mysteries of the spirit and the flesh.

Into that world came Bob, a Vietnam vet carving out a ranch-camp out of the mountain wilderness. A real “man’s man,” truck driving Bob shows Marty how to milk cows, mend barbed wire fence, raft rivers, and read the night sky. He also notices a young boy, unsure, self-conscious, teetering on the brink of manhood, and introduces that boy to the secret at the center of bodies. The Tricky Part tells the story of this relationship and its complex effect on the man Moran became.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times says of the play, "What gives this play its disturbing immediacy is Mr. Moran's gift for summoning the confused boy he was with exact sensory detail. The emotions stirred are not simple, and Mr. Moran gives such acute and urgent life to his memories that you have no difficulty in believing that he has remained in their thrall ever since. …The Tricky Part vibrates with the vertigo that descends when past and present coexist. …there is surely some redemption in rendering chaos with this kind of clarity."

Told with startling candor and disarming humor, The Tricky Part carries us to the heart of a paradox–that what we think of as damage may be the very thing that gives rise to transformation, even grace.

Director Sara Lampert Hoover has been at the helm of many of the Kitchen’s most popular productions, including Souvenir, Yellowman, The Clean House, Crumbs From The Table Of Joy and The Syringa Tree. She lives in NYC and directs around the country.

New York City actor Carl Danielsen will be making his KTC debut in this one-man production. Danielsen has numerous NYC and regional theater credits including Cleveland Playhouse, Barrington Stage, San Jose Repertory Theatre, and Virginia Stage. He works as an actor, arranger and music director, with credits in theater, musical theater, and television.

Lighting Designer for The Tricky Part is by E.D. Intemann. The Stage Manager is LaShawn Keyser. Performances will be at the Kitchen Theatre, located at 417 W. State / Martin Luther King, Jr. Street in downtown Ithaca, NY.

Performance Dates:
Wed., March 23, 2011 at 7:30pm (Preview 1 of 2)
Thurs., March 24, 2011 at 7:30pm (Preview 2 of 3)
Fri., March 25, 2011 at 8:00pm (Preview 3 of 3)
Sat., March 2011 at 8:00pm (Press Opening)
Sun., March Feb. 27, 2011 at 4:00pm
Wed., March 30, 2011 at 7:30pm
Thurs., March 31, 2011 at 7:30pm
Fri., April 01, 2011 at 8:00pm (Wine Tasting)
Sat., April 02, 2011 at 8:00pm
Sun., April 03, 2011 at 4:00pm
Wed., April 06, 2011 at 7:30pm
Thurs., April 07, 2011 at 7:30pm
Fri., Apirl 08, 2011 at 8:00pm
Sat., April 09, 2011 at 8:00pm
Sun., April 10, 2011 at 4:00pm (Closing)

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