One-act comedy plays to be performed this weekend

Caption: Pictured during a recent dress rehearsal, Elizabeth, portrayed by Tricia Cortez in "Laundry and Bourbon," holds a drink while worrying about her husband, Roy, played by Tony Alvarez in Lone Star, a Vietnam veteran who hasn't been home in two days. Elizabeth hears Roy has been in town with another woman.

Audiences will be in for a laugh this weekend as Laredo Community College's Performing Arts and Fine Arts Departments presents James McLure's two, one-act comedy plays, "Lone Star" and "Laundry and Bourbon."

The four-day production run begins on Thursday, Feb. 10, at 8 p.m.

Other production dates are slated for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 11-12, at 8 p.m., as well as a matinee performance on Sunday, Feb. 13, at 3 p.m. in LCC's Fort McIntosh Campus' Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center theater.

General admission is $7 and $5 for those with a valid student ID.

Proceeds benefit the Floyd Reed Memorial Scholarship Fund, which helps promote the performing arts in the Laredo area.

Both comedies are best suited for mature audiences and are not recommended for children under the age of 13.

Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon are two plays that go together.

Both stories take place in Maynard, Texas, during the mid-1970s in this "dead-end" town on the edge of the desert, the kind of place where there’s always something happening and nothing seems to change.

The women and men from three different marriages hang out, gossip, confide, and share their seemingly comedic stories with the audience.

"Audiences can expect a lot of laughter," said William Hauserman, LCC Fine Arts Center director and director of both plays. "There is lots of funny stuff going on, yet at the same time there is a certain pathos involved where we see the depths of some human problems and emotions, including loneliness, jealousy, depression, guilt, humiliation, relief and hope."

This is Hauserman's first production since being named Fine Arts Center director in early fall.

Cast members include three male characters and one understudy in Lone Star, while Laundry and Bourbon includes three female characters and one understudy. Both comedies also include about a dozen crew members.

"I chose these two plays for a variety of reasons," Hauserman said. "Both plays have relatively small, yet talented casts who are currently involved with other productions. Also, it's been a while since non-musical plays have been performed at LCC and I think these one-act comedies will have a great audience appeal."

A sign language interpreter will be provided to help hearing-impaired audience members.
For more information on Lone Star and Laundry and Bourbon, contact the LCC Fine Arts Center at 721-5334 or email William Hauserman at william.hauserman@laredo.edu.