Family showdown part of theater's Black Curtain production

The Whitefish Theatre Co. presents its first Black Curtain Theatre production of the 2017-2018 season with “The Velocity of Autumn” at the O’Shaughnessy Center in Whitefish.

This funny and touching play has performances on Sept. 23 and 24 at 7:30 p.m.

“The Velocity of Autumn” swirls around Alexandra, an 80-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she’ll spend her remaining years. In Alexandra’s corner are her wit, her volcanic passion, and the fact that she has barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block. But her children have their own secret weapon: estranged son Chris, who returns after 20 years, crawls through Alexandra’s second-floor window and becomes the family’s unlikely mediator. According to The New York Times, Tony-nominated “The Velocity of Autumn” is a “bracing, honest, and often deliciously funny look at the fragility and ferocity of life.”

“’The Velocity of Autumn’ is really a play for our time,” says Director Nina Levitt. “Whose family has not had to make decisions on the care of an aging parent or grandparent? How do we take care of them? And what are their desires?”

Adds Levitt, “The questions that the two main characters in the play are grappling with in their family are deep and profound. But Eric Coble, the playwright, has really brought joy and humor to this production as well. ‘The Velocity of Autumn’ will have you laughing out loud one moment and then completely moved in the next scene.”

Cast members include Gail Cleveland as Alexandra and Scott Plotkin as Chris. Viewers are reminded that as a Black Curtain production, there will minimal staging, no set or props, and actors will be reading from a script.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students with general seating. Tickets are sold only at the door on the evenings of each show. The Box Office opens at 6:30 p.m. and is located at 1 Central Ave., Whitefish.

For more information, call 862-5371. This show is sponsored by Soroptomist International of Whitefish.