Grand Strand Vacations: Taking Center Stage at the Beach
A Grand Strand Vacations getaway means more than lazy days on the beach and leisurely reading in the hammock. North Myrtle Beach and its surroundings are stuffed to the gills with cultural activities.
One of the newer additions to the artistic scene is Atlantic Stage, a professional theater company formed in 2008. A group of area actors, directors, set designers, etc. collaborated with others from Coastal Carolina University to start the entertainment hub. This summer they found a permanent home at the 79th Street black box.
Their mission is simple: Atlantic Stage is “committed to bringing the best in Broadway, Off-Broadway and new plays from regional theatre across America.” Being admirers of great performances, we at Grand Strand Vacations just had to check out the buzz surrounding one of North Myrtle’s latest creative outlets.
Housed inside a former high school, the Atlantic Stage theater is part of a $500,000 refurbishment project for Coastal Carolina University’s Myrtle Beach Education Center. Atlantic Stage – the only theater company in the area – has an agreement with the university to use the theater with its 146 seats, box office space and reception area.
The theater company also plans to reach out to the arts community by opening up the reception space to artists and related organizations. It’s all about enhancing the cultural landscape of the Grand Strand, said Atlantic Stage artistic director John Woodson.
The first production in the new space will be “Proof.” The play premiered off-Broadway in 2000 but soon moved to the Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway. It was showered with a number of Tony Award nominations, taking home Best Play, Best Actress (Mary Louise Parker) and Best Director (Daniel Sullivan). “Proof” also was awarded the Pulitzer prize for drama in 2001. In 2005, the play was made into a film starring Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Plot synopsis from Myrtle Beach’s Alternatives NewsMagazine:
The play concerns Catherine, the daughter of Robert, a recently deceased mathematical genius and professor at the University of Chicago, and her struggle with mathematical genius and mental illness. Catherine had cared for her father through a lengthy mental illness. Upon Robert’s death, his ex-graduate student Hal discovers a paradigm-shifting proof about prime numbers in Robert’s office. The title refers both to that proof and to the play’s central question: Can Catherine prove the proof’s authorship? Along with demonstrating the proof’s authenticity, the daughter also finds herself in a relationship with 28-year-old Hal. Throughout, the play explores Catherine’s fear of following in her father’s footsteps, both mathematically and mentally.
Atlantic Stage’s production is being directed by Monica Bell and will star Caroline Cuseo, Chad Bagwell, John Woodson and Kristi Rau McIntyre. It premieres Nov. 5 and runs Nov. 6-7, Nov. 12-15 and Nov. 19-22.
The rest of the theater company’s season includes:
- “Santaland Diaries” Dec. 2-20: A slacker works as a Macy’s elf during the holiday crunch. At first the job is merely humiliating, but as thousands of visitors start pouring through Santa’s workshop, he starts taking out his frustrations on children and parents alike.
- “Almost Maine” March 10-28: On a cold, clear moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways.
- “Eleemosynary” April 28-May 16: Sensitive and probing, this masterful play examines the subtle and often perilous relationship between three remarkable women: a young girl, her mother and her grandmother.
Tickets are $25 each for regular admission, $20 each for seniors and educators, and $15 each for students. For more information, call 1-877-ATS-TKTS or visit http://www.atlanticstage.com/index.html.
An Atlantic Stage production makes for the perfect evening when staying at one of our more than 350 luxury beach homes.
Stay tan,
Grand Strand Vacations