Out of appreciation for the Army, local playwright Donald Lovette is staging an encore performance of his play, “Mama Turn the Radio On,” at 7 p.m. Friday at Club Stewart.
Lovette said the play, which debuted in August at Brewton-Parker College, got such a good response from the community that he was inspired to give the whole cast of characters another chance to teach the community about personal responsibility through comedy.
“I’m still 10,000 feet in the air,” Lovette said of the community's response to the first showings. “The most common response was ‘I wish I would’ve brought my son or grandson.’ ”
Lovette said he’s excited to bring one of his plays to the base, which he has never done before, because he wants to express his gratitude to the soldiers while entertaining them and giving everyone a chance to have fun. He said people of all walks of life can gain something from the play.
“Outside of ‘soldier life,’ soldiers have ‘family life’ like that of any other family. You have single mothers raising children. You have mothers being the head of household when the fathers are deployed,” Lovette said.
The family-based play focuses on the idea that all actions have consequences. It will be showing for one night only. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Children under 12 are $10 in advance $15 at the door.
“My overall goal is for the play to be an experience,” Lovette said. “We will have a saxophonist to play jazz in the foyer, the Baconton Baptist Church Choir, photographer for family photos, Liberty County JROTC cadets as escorts and door prizes.”