Showbiz gets woman ' s touch
DramaTech production features all-female cast
By Jon Drews / Student Publications
Aubrie Lee, Erin Schwartz and Jill Adams are among the seven members of the all-female cast of Anton in Show Business.
Anton in Show Business is a show that satirizes yet embraces American theater. Showing at the DramaTech theater starting this Friday, this show is intended for mature audiences as it contains strong language and adult situations.
The play follows three women who are cast in a production of Chekhov ' s The Three Sisters in San Antonio, Texas, in an attempt to bring some culture to the place.
The three girls are Lisabette (Aubrie Lee), a third-grade teacher who comes to pursue her dream of an acting career aided by " the Lord himself, " Casey (Lee Allen Thornton) a veteran of over 200 off-Broadway shows and a cynical-yet-hopeful lover of theater despite financial, health and familial problems; and Holly (Jill Adams), a television celebrity made beautiful by umpteen plastic surgeries who wants to establish herself as a serious actress and wants to act in movies without having to be naked in them.
The vast differences between the girls serve to provide an instant chemistry between them.
The rest of the cast includes an annoying critic (Martha Jaworski); a theatre director, a handsome cowboy and a gay designer (all played by Erin Schwartz); foreign directors (all played by Kelly Lefler) and an advertising executive (Brandi Wyche who also provides a running narrative).
The play makes digs at jaded New Yorkers, inept producers, snobby directors, surgically enhanced actors, crass sponsors and several other sacred topics in theater. The show is followed by a short film, Differences, directed by the production ' s assistant director, Will Wright.Directed by Greg Abott, the artistic director of the DramaTech theater the play was selected because " it was the best script I had read in a long time, " Abott said.
" It had great roles for women, which does not happen very often. It was extremely funny...in parts and all together, a great piece of theater, " he said. The casting is superb and watching Lisabette, Casey and Holly come alive in DramaTech ' s interpretation of Jane Martin ' s play is mesmerizing.
Anton in Show Business will be performed April 15, 16 and 20-23 at 8 p.m. at the DramaTech theater. Tickets are $5 for students, $8 for faculty and staff, and $10 for the general public. Reservations can be made online at www.dramatech.org or by calling (404)-894-2745.
