The Theatre Company Presents:
NUTS
written by Tom Topor
produced by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

A Broadway hit, Nuts has been called the best courtroom melodrama since Witness for the Prosecution and The Caine Mutiny Court Martial. Set in a courtroom in New York's Bellevue Hospital, the story concerns an incarcerated woman's valiant attempt to fight those who want to have her committed as mentally incompetent to stand trial on a manslaughter charge. The State, represented by a court-appointed psychiatrist and an aggressive prosecutor, say Claudia Faith Draper is nuts. In the course of this arresting, yet at times very funny drama, she demonstrates to the judge that she isn't crazy and goes off in the end to stand trial on the manslaughter charge.

Nuts has the audience rooting for the good guys and hating the bad guys, as if the whole event was the most beautifully professional wrestling match you have ever seen. Nuts is a play that moves you ... you are in court watching a woman fight for what she believes is her future.

Nuts is a drama with an adult theme. Age 18 and under must be accompanied by parent or guardian.

Michael moved to the Harrison area in 1986 from Alabama/Louisiana. His first play with the Theatre Company was The Murder Room. A veteran actor, he has also directed many Theatre Company productions. He is a past president and past board member of the Theatre Company. He was seen as Sherlock Holmes in the recent production of The Hound of the Baskervilles, and Lord Ozzy Rose in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Mike worked professionally as Earthquake McGoon, at Dogpatch, USA, and also worked in park shows in Houston, Buffalo, NY and at Silver Dollar City before his retirement from the professional stage by falling off a stage in Houston and breaking his right arm in several places. Being the consummate actor that he is, he finished out the month’s engagement before driving himself back to Harrison and having surgery on the arm.

This will be Kim’s 11th opportunity to perform on the Lyric’s stage. She is a college student and mother to darling 4-year-old Tabor Trublood.

Jackie Buxton has reached that stage of her life where she can do things she wouldn't have done when she had fewer years on her body. Being able to play the mother in NUTS is a tremendous challenge and opportunity I might not have attempted before. The theater has been a gift to me and I didn't even open it until I was in my forties. I am blessed to have a supportive husband of 39 years, Al, who allows me to test my creative juices.

Bill Edwards is a 12-year veteran of the Theatre Company.  He has played in over 20 plays and musicals.  His credits range from Dracula to Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, and from Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird to a Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof. His favorite role, however, will always be Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

Ken retired two years ago after serving nine years as the first Executive Director of the Ozark Arts Council.  Over the past 25 years, Ken has appeared in close to 30 plays and has directed two.

Jake is a recent graduate of North Arkansas College.  He is a father of two sons, Logan and Benjamin.  He is planning to begin studying theater at University of Arkansas this spring.

Clark joined the merry band of Harrison Theatre Company players in 2003 after retiring from the Dallas area where he dabbled in the theater, film, and print venues as an amateur actor/model (always grossly underpaid). Here at the beautiful Lyric Theater he has been fortunate to share the stage with a very talented group of actors (at least that’s what they tell him). He is currently privileged to sit on the Theater Company Board and the O.A.C. Board. They even let him co-host the annual Theater Awards show. Known for his comedic characters, playing a straight dramatic role in the upcoming production of Nuts is anew experience for him. Ah, life in the theater - always fun, never dull, and always learning! And where else can a retired curmudgeon let his inner child come out to play?

Paul has performed extensively as a musician and rarely as an actor. He enjoys acting in small roles and has performed as Mr. Witherspoon in Arsenic and Old Lace, the astronomer in Hound of the Baskervilles, the father of Mildred and Helen Keller in The Miracle Worker, the cab driver in Harvey, and Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. His memorable comedic role was Merlene in Dearly Departed. His stage direction for Show Boat and Our Town are among his proudest accomplishments.

His music career involves 28 years in the public schools, numerous musicals as a performer on keyboard and clarinet, numerous plays and musicals as director and creator of incidental music and sound effects. Paul taught an orchestra class at the request of Northark one summer which yielded an orchestra for a performance of Fiddler on the Roof and subsequent musicals. His favorite nickname, given to him by Tim Dugan and Lara Shaw, is Maestro. He is married to Pat McBride, a frequent Theatre Company director, who drafts Paul for various marching choreography assignments. He also serves as Treasurer of the Ozark Arts Council.

Otherwise known as the Denizen of the Digital Prepress Center at RockTenn Company, Jerome has been useful to have around the Theatre Company. After having printed the large posters for the display on the front of the Lyric for about four years, he found a way to get the large format printer donated to the O.A.C. so now they can print their own as needed. He has shown a knack for helping build sets and especially for tearing them down again. And along the way he has taken on many small roles in numerous plays and a few not so small. Jerome said, "This is by far the most serious drama I have been involved with and I don’t believe any part is 'small' in it." He hopes everyone will come and enjoy the wonderful musical performances at the FREE Theatre Company Awards Ceremony to be held on September 6. You might get to see Jerome accept the award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor for his part in Dearly Beloved!

Lynn is the Operations Manager for the Ozark Arts Council.  She rarely appears on stage, preferring to work behind the scenes as stage manager or curtain operator. She was recently in Hound of the Baskervilles, substituting for an ill cast member at the last minute.  Lynn enjoys reading and spending time with her boys, Ed, a Chow, Ralph, a German Shepard, and Charlie, an Australian Shepherd.  She is looking forward to directing The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe next summer.

Jamie started acting in college under the direction of R.E. Davis with the Pioneer Players at North Arkansas College.  He became involved with the Theatre Company during their spring production of Show Boat in 1997.  Since then he has been involved in almost every production, either on stage or off.  Now entering his eleventh season with the Theatre Company, Jamie currently serves as Theatre Company President, as well as a member of the governing board.

Dana has been an active supporter of the Theatre Company and O.A.C. for several years. She has appeared in several past productions of dramas and musicals and is looking forward to recreating her favorite character “Honey Raye” in this season’s upcoming comedy Christmas Belles on the Lyric Stage.  She and Morris are the proud parents of Marrick, 19, and Morgan, 15.  In additional to community theatre she enjoys gardening, reading, and being a strong pack leader for her dogs and cats.

Mary has been involved with Theatre Company for over 30 years.  If she was to pick a favorite role from the years of being on stage, it would be a toss up between Ouiser in Steel Magnolias and Betty in The Foreigner, but she has enjoyed any role she has had on stage.  She also enjoys directing, and will direct Christmas Belles in December 2008, which is the second in the trilogy of the Futrelle sisters of Fayro, Texas.  Mary is a past board member of the Theatre Company and the Ozark Arts Council, and is currently serving as treasurer of the Theatre Company. Mary has three children, 12 grandchildren, and two great grandsons.

Tony is an Emergency Room nurse and also has a degree in electronics.  He studied technical theater in college and continues to attend national workshops.  His particular interest is in lighting design.  He is the Theatre Company’s Technical Director.

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