“Some villagers were unhappy with the idea of a show advertised with a warning being in their town. They didn’t bring pitchforks, but it was close,” said Jamie Daugherty-Weaver, a producer for the play.
The play will now be performed at 8 p.m. today and Saturday at the South Charleston Opera House, 35 and 37 South Charleston St. A 2 p.m. Sunday show also will be held.
Tickets are available at the Madison Avenue Pharmacy in Springfield or for cash only at the door. Admission is $10, or $8 for students and seniors.
The play is about broken relationships and infidelity, Daugherty-Weaver said, and includes couples in high school to an older couple with a grown adult daughter who has moved back home with her children.
Shoebox Theatre Director Lemoine Rice confirmed that the “Plenty of Reasons” cast were told they couldn’t perform at the theater.
Rice initially said he was not at liberty to discuss the matter, but he later said the play wasn’t allowed at the Shoebox “to uphold community standards.” He declined further comment.
The theater, which can accommodate about 50 patrons, is a community mission of the United Presbyterian Church. The theater building and grounds are owned by the village of Clifton.
The play was originally approved by Shoebox Theater officials, Daugherty-Weaver said, but after a warning was placed on advertisements for the show and some residents overhead actors using curse words in the dialogue they were told: “This kind of thing may be OK in Yellow Springs, but not in Clifton.”
Some residents also discussed taking the issue before the village council for a vote if Shoebox officials allowed the cast to perform at the theater, she said.
Shoebox officials also reimbursed the crew for money spent on advertisement, Daugherty-Weaver said.
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