Aldersgate Community Theater To Perform Solid Gold Cadillac

For the next two weeks Aldersgate Church Community Theater (ACCT) hope to entertain local residents  with its summer performance of Solid Gold Cadillac by Howard Teichmann.

Director Rosemary Hartman and producer Bailey Center teamed up to produce a comedy filled with hilarious social commentary in a setting that is close to home.

 “It’s a very timely thing. I saw the original movie in 1956 and it’s just as relevant as always,” Center said. “The conflicts are resolved in the most delightful ways.”

The plot centers on a company’s most minority shareholder, Laura Partridge (Barbara Hayes) who after speaking her mind at a meeting, receives a cushy job to keep her quiet. But eventually things head in a downward spiral and the company’s founder, Edward L. McKeever (Will Monahan) returns from his Washington job to save the company with Laura’s help.

“It has some great roles and the relevance it has today makes it an enjoyable show. It’s extremely topical,” Hartman said. “Being in Washington, this is really going to get a lot of chuckles. The dialogue is handled in a tongue in cheek way. Very funny.”

The ten cast members have been rehearsing for  the last eight weeks and a number of the crew are community volunteers. ACCT has partnered with Paul Springs retirement community to arrange a shuttle service to performances and invites all theater patrons to attend.

“I’m particularly impressed by the timeliness of this and the comedic means in which it is expressed,” Hayes said. “There’s really going to be a lot of laughing. Little, clever lines all through it speak commentary on Washington business and politics.”

Hartman was faced with the challenge of creating four separate areas on stage and relied on lighting to create the illusion of space. Last minute tweaks will be complete for Friday's opening night performance.

"You get a vision of what you want the play to look like," Hartman said. "When the audience looks at one area, they don't really see what's going on in the others. The sets and the lighting are heavily involved in the illusion."

There are still tickets available for the July 4^th luncheon performance, but sales will close on June 30^th at 5 p.m. Regular tickets can be purchased online, by phone or at the box office.