Production could bring tears, but in a good way

Garic Tinlsey of Uniontown, portraying Greg, and Addi Brown of Fort Scott as his wife Katie, perform a scene from the play "Sylvia" at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the FSCC campus. In the foreground playing the title character is Taylor Bailey.(Kathleen Hinrichs/Submitted Photo)

Premiering in a 1996 off-Broadway production starring Sarah Jessica Parker, the play "Sylvia" will be produced at Fort Scott Community College this weekend.

It is first production for new theater instructor Nathan Magee, who was previously the speech teacher and debate and forensics coach at the college.

"I wanted something that, one, was a challenge and I knew this would be with the subject matter. Two, it was a small cast for my first show at Fort Scott Community College. I thought the audience would enjoy it, but it would still challenge them a little bit. It's very funny; it's very sweet. I think it's something all of us can relate to no matter what our ages," Magee said.

A Fort Scott native, Magee earned a bachelor's of fine arts from Emporia State University and a master's of fine arts degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

"Sylvia" centers on a 55-year-old Greg who finds a stray dog in the park, named Sylvia, and decides that the dog symbolizes his mid-life crisis and takes it home. Taylor Bailey plays the dog -- in human form -- and Addi Brown plays Katie, Greg's wife who doesn't like the dog. Chavez Gaynor's role is a foil to all three, Magee said.

Magee said he knows the play well because he understudied the lead role of Greg when he was in graduate school.

"It's about getting older and what we try to latch onto when we find out that life isn't what we thought it would or should be," Magee said.

Performances for the general public will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, and Saturday, Oct. 22, and a 1:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Oct. 23. It is being staged at the Danny and Willa Ellis Family Fine Arts Center on the FSCC campus.

A Wednesday night performance for students, employees and board members went well.

"We actually had quite a few students show up -- well over 100 students. They seemed to really like it. All the feedback has been extremely positive. It really is just a charming show. You laugh through the first two thirds. ... You're lucky if you're not leaving in tears" in a good way, Magee said.

The tentative production for spring is called "Almost, Maine." It will be directed by theater instructor Lawrence Alford, who designed lights for "Sylvia," Magee said.