The Lucknow Sentinel, 2015-04-15, Page 22 Lucknow Sentinel • Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Valerie Gillies/Lucknow Sentinel
Members of the HAWK Theatre 2015 production of "A Small Town Homecoming"
gathered for a group photo on Media Day, April 7. Front from left: Johnathan
Nelson, Lillian Abbott, Lynn Shepherd -Adamson. Back from left: Director Murray
Yungblut, Tony McQuail, Ben Miltenburg, Marilyn Miltenburg, Producer Tony
Miltenburg.
The banter that comes from familiarity abounds in "A Small Town Homecoming".
The editor (played by Johnathan Nelson) and reporter (Lillian Abbott) of the
local newspaper pump oldtimer Bill McMillan (Ben Miltenburg) for juicy stories
from past Homecomings to promote the upcoming Homecoming while the diner
owner (Lynn Shepherd -Adamson) keeps the coffee coming. April 7, 2015.
'A Small Town Homecoming" closes with a touching scene between the Mary Helm (Marilyn Miltenburg) and George
Henry (Tony McQuail). Speculations and misunderstandings are cleared up, but there is a hint that the story of the two
who left town as kids is not nearly finished. Perhaps there is opportunity for a sequel... April 7, 2015.
HAWK Theatre presents...
A Small Town
Homecoming
The 2015 Hawk Theatre produc-
tion of and original play written by
Harold Menary in 2014, "A Small
Town Homecoming" will be pre-
sented at the Lucknow Town Hall
Theatre April 23, 24, 25 and May 1,
2, 3. It is described as a play written
about a fictitious town for the local
people that is relevant for all small
communities.
Directed by Murray Yungblut
and produced by Tony
Miltenburg, the play does not have
a lot of action, but most certainly
makes up for it with the witty rep-
artee between the various charac-
ters of small town anywhere. Har-
old Menary has made a reputation
for himself as having an eye for
stories and interesting people to
populate them. The cast are all
veteran actors of the HAWK Thea-
tre except for the one new addi-
tion, Marilyn Miltenburg, who
rounds out the six characters in
the play.
The production begins with the
characters introducing themselves
to the audience. In the course of
the introductions, the atmosphere
is set in that the characters give
hints as to how the people on
stage are actually very likely to
resemble those in almost every
small town. You are invited to see
if you recognize in them some old
friends from your own town over
the years, as the occasion of the
play is the preparations for a
Homecoming reunion as are held
by communities, generally every
ten years.
The play unfolds over the span of
approximately a week in which
the various characters have conver-
sations in different groupings at the
local diner. Through these interac-
tions the personalities reveal them-
selves in several ways, through
reminiscence, speculations, lots of
ribbing and, of course, just plain
gossip.
The significant points in "A
Small Town Homecoming"
revolve around the cycles that
occur. Although the people and
buildings change over time, there
are certain things that remain the
same. There is continuity to a
small town. One such cycle is
that, even when you do not know
the people in the next generation,
by knowing what their parents
were like at that age you can get
an idea of who the younger
people are.
"A Small Town Homecoming" is
certainly a visit worth making as
you will find yourself laughing
throughout, being drawn into the
interplay between the stories and
characters. You will even find your-
self warmed by the thread of love,
both young and unrequited. Come
and meet friends old and new,
both on stage and off.