Elvis inspires dreamers in two Venice Theatre one-act plays
The spirit of Elvis Presley takes center stage at Venice Theatre where two related one-act plays touch on his impact to a few of his fans.
The theater is presenting the area premiere of Ellen Byron’s “Graceland” and “Asleep on the Wind,” which run April 21 through May 7 in the new Raymond Center, the company’s temporary mainstage space since Hurricane Ian caused heavy damage to the main building last September.
The two plays are companion pieces that director Benny Sato Ambush describes as “two touching tales of compassion” linked by the spirit of Presley.
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“Graceland” introduces the audience to Rootie and an older woman named Bev, who are competing to be the first person allowed inside the mansion once it opens to the public in 1982. They are major Presley fans who spend their waiting time talking about their lives.
“Asleep at the Wheel” goes back 10 years in time where Rootie and her favorite brother, Beau, spend time in a ‘special place” and introducing reasons why it becomes so important for Rootie to visit Graceland.
In a review of an early production, the Chicago Reader said the one acts are essentially character studies that “embrace the lives of a few people who have taken Elvis as their savior and show us what effect that choice has had.”
Ali Wasmund plays Rootie at two different ages. She stars with Pam Hayes as Bev in “Graceland” and with Patrick Mounce as her brother in “Asleep on the Wind.”
Ambush, the theater’s artistic director, said the three characters are connected by their “need for Elvis to fix a dilemma in their lives.”
Performances are in the Raymond Center, 140 W. Tampa Ave., Venice. Tickets are $28, $21 for college students and educators and $15 for students through 12th grade. 941-488-1115; venicetheatre.org
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Characters share love of Elvis in two Venice Theatre one-act plays
