On Stage This Week - The Moment of Greatest Happiness

Starting tomorrow in Charleston is the play The Moment of Greatest Happiness. Here's the press release courtesy of my pal Mel:

The Contemporary Youth Arts Company will present the new Dan Kehde drama The Moment of Greatest Happiness at 8 p.m., June 3-5 and 10-12 on the stage of the WVSU Capitol Center Theater, 123 Summers Street, Charleston.

The play, about two students in love in a 1950s girl's academy, features the acting talents of veterans Maria Fioravante, Samantha Oxley, Sheila Jarrett, Donnie Smith, Meredith Overcash and a large supporting cast.

During the height of the conservatism of the 1950s McCarthy era, young Maureen Foster, the daughter of soon-to-be blacklisted Hollywood director Joe Foster, transfers to the prestigious Whittaker Academy for Girls, just outside Boston. Intelligent, independent and gay, in an era when homosexuality was unspoken and largely unknown to the respectable world, Maureen fights to maintain a low profile among the students, seeking simply to graduate and move on with her life.

Her plan is sidetracked permanently when she meets and falls in love with fellow student Evie Humphries who, in the midst of a bout of teenage rebelliousness, has openly declared herself a lesbian as well as a communist. After a tumultuous beginning, their relationship blossoms into love and mutual respect, eventually challenging the status quo of the ancient New England tradition of the girls academies.

Tickets are $9.50 for adults and $5.50 for seniors and are available at the door the evenings of the performances.