New Comedy Set in Crozet to Open at Carysbrook

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George Gaige as Frank and Ann Small as Estelle
George Gaige as Frank and Ann Small as Estelle

A new comedy set in a Crozet trailer park in 1965 by Scottsville playwright Langden Mason will open at the Carysbrook Center for Performing Arts in Fork Union June 13 and run for two weekends. The trailer park in Pinching Petunias bears a close resemblance to one on Park Street, and Crozet residents will recognize local family names, places, and even personalities, such as a now-deceased lady in the park who gave sanctuary to some 50 cats.

As the story goes, on July 3, 1965, Frank Louvado, a 64-year-old from Brooklyn, steps from an abandoned trailer at the Peach Grove Trailer Court in Crozet, suffering from a hangover. As the morning unfolds, his sobering encounters with a precocious twelve-year-old, an overly friendly neighbor, and a hot-tempered mechanic lead him to a chance meeting with 59-year old Estelle Purvis. Will love bloom for two strangers this late in the game, or will Estelle’s stubborn streak keep her bound in her ways?

Mason called the play “a funny, heartwarming story of North meeting South in the foothills of the Blue Ridge.” A review blurb says it’s “an hilarious account of life in Crozet in the ’60s.”

Performance dates are June 13, 14, 15 and 20, 21, and 22. Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees start at 3 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 at the door, and $10 for students. Check the website, carysbrook.org, for details. The Carysbrook Center, 8880 James Madison Hwy, is located 5 miles south of Palmyra on Route 15.