Pioneer Playhouse continues its 76th season in the Bluegrass with a heartwarming southern comedy about a grandma and a juvenile delinquent who forge an unlikely bond.
Walking Across Egypt, adapted for the stage by Catherine Bush from the novel by Clyde Edgerton, will run from July 1-19, Tuesdays through Saturdays, in the outdoor amphitheater. A home-cooked BBQ dinner is available at 7 p.m. in the shaded courtyard before the 8:30 p.m. show.
“This is one of our favorite plays, so we’re bringing it back after 12 years,” says Heather Henson, managing director of Pioneer Playhouse, which her father, Eben C. Henson, founded in 1949. “It’s the feel-good play of the summer. And many locals will know playwright Catherine Bush, who lived in Danville for a time, and who still has family here.”
Walking Across Egypt centers around Mattie Rigsbee (Patricia Hammond), a lonely older lady looking for purpose, and Wesley Benfield (Logan Yates), a wayward juvenile delinquent looking for guidance.
“Mattie has always been a doer, but she’s gotten older, and she feels like she’s slowing down,” says Henson. “She’s at a cross roads in her life and in her faith, and then a stray dog shows up, and one thing leads to another as it always does in this kind of heartfelt comedy, and before long, Maddie is busy ‘caring for the least of her brethren’ just as her Bible tells her to do.”
“The play has a wonderful message,” says Heather’s brother, Robby Henson, who is artistic director of the historic theatre. “I think audiences will really respond to it just as they did twelve years ago.”
“And for those who saw our first show, The Game’s Afoot, it’s always fun to watch the same actors transform into totally different characters,” says Heather. “There are a couple of new faces in this play, and we’re thrilled that a young man from Mercer County is making his professional debut with us. Logan Yates has been in a couple of West T. Hill productions, and we were very impressed with him. He’s terrific as Wesley. I think patrons will recognize and love these characters.”
Besides being a best-selling book, Walking Across Egypt was also a popular movie made in 1999 starring Ellen Burstyn, Mark Hamill, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
“The play is directed by Derrick Ledbetter, who has directed several shows for Transylvania University, and it features a church choir singing hymns,” says Heather Henson. “The hymns, one of them being ‘Walking Across Egypt,’ bring the whole story together in a special way.”
Pioneer Playhouse is located at 840 Stanford Road, Danville, Kentucky. Reservations are suggested for the show, and required for dinner. Shows are outdoors in a historic amphitheater, and continue in light rain. If the weather is severe and the show is cancelled, rain checks will be given. Reservations can be made by calling the box office at 859-236-2747, Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.