Macon Little Theatre bringing Pulitzer Prize-winning ‘Lost in Yonkers’ to life

It’s been 37 years since Jim Crisp Jr. directed a play for the Macon Little Theatre stage.

Today, he returns to MLT as guest director of Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “Lost in Yonkers” which runs through April 9.

“Neil Simon was certainly one of the greatest playwrights and ‘Lost in Yonkers’ is a great, award-winning show so it’s a perfect match for Jim and his experience,” said JP Haynie, artistic director at MLT. “Jim has more than 300 shows under his belt as a director so it’s the perfect show and also the perfect time to bring him back to Macon Little Theatre.”

Though it’s been quite a stretch since Crisp last directed at MLT, it was MLT that brought a young Crisp to Macon in the first place.

“I moved to Macon to work with Macon Little Theatre in 1982, quite a wonderful year for them as they were celebrating their 50th anniversary,” Crisp said. “The first play I directed was in celebration of the theater’s history and was a repeat of the first play they’d ever performed, Noel Coward’s ‘Hay Fever.’”

But Crisp’s stay at MLT only lasted just over three years: he was fired from the theatre group in early 1986 over “artistic differences.” But instead of leaving town for new opportunities, Crisp and a handful of others created a new opportunity right here by forming another community theatre group: Theatre Macon.

The first show Theatre Macon staged was the somewhat challenging “The Miracle Worker,” the story of young Helen Keller who lost her sight and hearing at 19 months old.

“It was a tough play to do but we had a marvelous cast and Hellen Keller was played brilliantly by 7-year-old Amanda Hutchinson,” Crisp said. “We chose ‘Miracle Worker’ intentionally because it’s about the importance of finding the way to community and living in awareness and love. Despite its unique circumstances, the story of Hellen Keller and her teacher and lifelong companion, Anne Sullivan, is a universal one of overcoming challenges. It’s uplifting and full of love.”

Crisp steered Theatre Macon until his retirement in 2018 when the artistic director role was handed to Richard Frazier. Through the years, Crisp has won recognition for the plays he has staged and for fostering the arts in Macon.

If there’s value in Crisp’s returning to MLT, aside from the value of simply putting on a good show, it may be found in that word community. If there were differences in the past, artistic or otherwise, both Crisp and Haynie are certain there’s no place for them in the present.

“It really is a good sign of the sense of community that’s grown up among the theatre groups in Middle Georgia,” Haynie said. “It’s been a tough time for everyone in the past several years, especially navigating COVID. If we’ve learned anything it’s that we’re in this together and what’s good for one group is beneficial to all.

“We each have our unique flavor but we’re here to help one another out. I think we’ve all come to the point where what matters most is that the arts are succeeding.”

And somehow, if not voiced outright, Crisp’s working with MLT on “Lost in Yonkers” is a statement of the health of local theatre groups. Haynie said he sees it as “coming full circle” and, of course, Crisp is pleased.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I’d be going back but here we are,” he said. “I give credit to JP, he’s done such a wonderful job since coming to Macon Little Theatre which is where he grew up in acting.”

Haynie’s mother, Sylvia Haynie, has long been involved with MLT, directed multiple plays and served as an area theatre educator. Haynie said he considers her as his mother in the world of theater, of course, and Crisp as his father.

Though Crisp said in years past he didn’t imagine a return to MLT, he said it feels, right, feels healing and doesn’t feel weird at all.

“It just feels like I’ve gone back to a place I used to live and I’m enjoying it immensely,” he said before again bragging about Haynie and Frazier who he said worked hard, purposefully and gladly to create collegial, cooperative relationships among area community theaters.

As far as the play itself, Crisp, who knows about such things, said, “Oh, we have a superb cast and it’s a wonderful show. Everyone will enjoy it.”

MLT is located at 4220 Forsyth Rd. Ticketing and information are at www.maconlittletheatre.org.

Touching on other area theater productions, Theatre Macon’s “Perfect Arrangement” ends Sunday. See theatremacon.com for details on weekend shows.

The Perry Players (perryplayers.org) bring Noel Coward’s “Blithe Spirit” to the stage beginning April 20 at their playhouse at 909 Main St. in Perry and Warner Robins Little Theatre (wrlittletheatre.com) begins “Color Me Crazy” on April 21 at 502 South Pleasant Hill Rd. in Warner Robins.

While our focus rightly concentrates on Middle Georgia, it’s worthwhile to occasionally look further afield and that’s the case with the Savannah Music Festival which enters its second week this weekend. While a performance by blues legend Buddy Guy highlighted the first week, there’s much more to come.

Ryan McMaken, artistic director for the festival, said there have been record post-COVID crowds attending venues throughout Savannah’s historic district and elsewhere, including a major jazz-infused funk and R&B show Sunday with Galactic, Cory Wong, and Nate Smith + KINFOLK that also features food trucks, family-friendly activities and ticket prices.

Other coming highlights include the award-winning Tex-Mex rock band Los Lobos on Saturday. On April 5, multi-instrumental bluegrass artist Sam Bush plays the music of John Hartford on a double bill with The Jerry Douglas Band. If you love great acoustic guitarists-songwriters you can’t do better than seeing Leo Kottke on April 6 or Patty Griffin on April 7.

More classically minded? Among offerings is the April 8 appearance of the celebrated Emerson String Quartet on their final season of concerts after four-plus decades as a premier chamber music ensemble.

There’s much more and information is at savannahmusicfestival.org.

“It’s just a short drive to Savannah to explore a world of music,” McMaken said. “Many of the performances are one-time only double bills, special collaborations and rare regional appearances. The last week of the festival is packed with incredible international artists, including master musicians from Mali, Ireland, Cuba and France.”

Finally, a few weekend notes. If you want an evening of laughter, comedian Leanne Morgan is the answer and her “Just Getting Started” tour is at the Macon City Auditorium Saturday. It’s the chance to see her live whether you’re one of her 2.5 million social media followers or not. And your chance to catch her before her new Netflix special premiers April 11. Information and ticketing are at maconcentreplex.org/auditorium and www.leannemorgan.com.

And get this: Boyz II Men is playing the auditorium tonight. Macon City Auditorium is located downtown at 415 First St.

The fourth annual Little Richard Festival is Saturday from 2-9 p.m. at 416 Craft St. and on April 5, the Museum of Arts and Sciences (masmacon.com) presents “2 Fronts: An Evening with Alfred Conteh.” The free lecture/gallery talk begins at 6 p.m. and compliments the current exhibit “2 Fronts.”

Conteh is a Georgia-based artist whose realistic, large-scale paintings explore how African diaspora societies in the South are fighting social, economic, educational and psychological wars from within and without to survive.

Contact writer Michael W. Pannell at mwpannell@gmail.com.