There aren't five things a man won't do for $10 MILLION...

Opening April 24, 2009 at the beautiful Holly Springs Cultural Center, Cary Players Community Theatre will revive a heart-warming comedy with its spring production of

"The Curious Savage"

Written by John Patrick, author of The Teahouse of the August Moon, The Curious Savage captures an era when theater celebrated endearing eccentricity.

The Curious Savage is the story of Mrs. Ethel P. Savage, a wealthy and eccentric woman who’s been behaving oddly since her husband died. She’s taken up acting and writing plays, has a constant companion in a large, one-eyed teddy bear and is using the family fortune to fund the small dreams of ordinary people. Her stepchildren, Titus the obnoxious senator, Samuel the incompetent judge and Lily Belle the oft-wedded socialite are fearful of damage to the family reputation (and their pocketbooks) and have committed her to a private sanitarium, The Cloisters. Here Mrs. Savage is quickly adopted by the endearing collection of residents who seem saner than the children who just had her committed. Those children soon find out that Mrs. Savage had converted the $10 million (a lot of money back then) family fortune into negotiable bonds and has hidden them. The three Savages then further humiliate themselves in their attempts to recover the money by following their mother’s outlandishly misleading suggestions.

The cast includes Annah Michaux in the lead role of Mrs. Savage and Ann Forsthoefel as Florence, who are returning to the CP boards after having performed in It’s A Wonderful Life. Rachel Green, Cary’s Youth Theatre Coordinator, recreates the role of Miss Wilhelmina, that she performed at the Broach Theatre in Greensboro in 2003. Colleen Guest, a regular in Cary Players’ productions of Love Bits and Bites, plays Lily Belle. Local comedian Paul Brown appears as Hannibal and the husband and wife team of Dot and Larry Boulia perform the parts of Mrs. Paddy and Dr. Emmett, respectively. Rounding out the cast are newcomer Shelly Twigg as Fairy May, Triangle theatre veteran Tim Weist as Titus, Theatre in the Park’s Master Carpenter Jeff Nugent as Jeffery and local entrepreneur and CP supporter Jerry Nowell (of Nowell’s Contemporary Furniture) as Samuel.

Performances are Friday and Saturday: April 24-25 at 8pm, Sunday: April 26 at 3pm, Thursday: April 30 at 7:30pm && Friday and Saturday: May 1-2 at 8pm.

ALL PERFORMANCES will be held at the Holly Springs Cultural Center (300 W. Ballentine St).

Admission is $15 for Adults and $13 for Seniors and Students. On Thursday, April 30th all tickets are $10.

The performance on Sunday, April 26th will be audio described by Arts Access for the visually impaired. The Holly Springs Cultural Center is handicapped accessible. “This show is ideal for audiences of all ages.” says producer Debra Grannan. “We’re offering one show at a reduced rate and earlier time to encourage students to attend.”

Purchase reserved-seat tickets online at www.etix.com (a convenience charge applies) or in person at the Holly Springs Cultural Center Box Office. The box office is open Mon-Thu 9-9pm, Fri-Sat 9-5pm and one hour prior to show time. For more information please call (919) 567-4000.

Thanks to our show sponsors: Lucky 32 restaurant, Nowells Contemporary Furniture, and the Town of Cary.

For more information, visit our website at www.caryplayers.org or email info@caryplayers.org.

The purpose of Cary Players is to provide the citizens of Cary and surrounding areas with the opportunity to enhance and showcase their theatrical talents or artistic appreciation through a variety of activities including but not limited to, working on or attending theatrical productions, readings of up and coming playwrights, theatre workshops, and sponsoring other events aimed to positively reach out to the community at large.