Blue Ridge Community Theater

Playwright Lee Blessing's work explores the complex relationship between three brilliant women: Dorothea, a mystically inclined sort who in her 70s has deliberately cultivated eccentricity for a lifetime; Artie, Dorothea's 40ish daughter and complete opposite, scientifically minded and seeking rationality in all things; and Echo, the exceptional and sensitive 20ish daughter that Artie abandoned years ago to be raised by Dorothea.

The drama-comedy explores the delicate balance of love and resentment among the women -- "Eleemosynary," or charity, doesn't come easily for any of them -- as well as universal themes of life, motherhood, mystery and the human spirit. The tale will play out in the Blue Ridge Community Theater on a bare-bones set, making the work highly theatrical and placing all of the focus on the actors. The cast consists of three accomplished local performers: Norma Bean as Dorothea, Lisa Lacy-Avery as Artie and Katie Jenkins as Echo.

Lee Blessing's play "Eleemosynary" is a remarkable tapestry of life woven between three generations of exceptional women -- a superbly written affair.

Their characters don't possess this same confidence and strength in Blessing's tale of women and their expectations, choices and compromises. They love one another, but they don't know how to relate. They want to please one another, but they miss the mark.

The story is deep, intricately connected and highly theatrical, yet the brilliant cast of three – Norma Bean, Lisa Lacy-Avery & Katie Jenkins -- make it easy to understand all the misunderstandings between an elderly woman, a daughter and a granddaughter.

All three ladies are at turns caught between the two other women in this triangle. It falls to Echo to narrate this tale, explaining characters' motives, recalling many mistakes made over decades of time and offering a glimpse of hope for t he future.

the CAST:

Dorothea - Norma Bean

Artemis - lisa Lacy-Avery

Echo - Katie Jenkins

BEHIND THE SCENES:

Producer - Tina Maslankowski

Technical Director - Lee Maslankowski

Set Construction - Joe Webb & Crew

Lighting/Sound Design - Lisa Lacy-Avery

Artistic Consultant - Sonia Smith

Box Office - Elizabeth Hunt

Costumes - Eileen Keer, Cat