The players at the Garage Door Theater will take audiences back to the ‘50s with their upcoming performances of “The Night Hank Williams Died.”
The show, which takes place in the small fictional town of Stanley, Texas, deals with themes of hometown, how the place that raised you can trap and draw you back in.
“The title is a metaphor,” Director Clark Bawcom said. “Come see the show to find out about what. It’s a small ensemble cast and takes place in the bar that belongs to Gus. There are patrons of the bar that are included, one of whom is Thermond who is in his late 20s, and his high school sweetheart, that come back to town.”
Thermond, the quintessential smalltown boy who never outgrew the town he grew up in, is played by Garage Door regular Joe Hjelmgren.
“I moved around a lot as a kid, to small towns, so I was surrounded by people who were friends with each other since they were knee-high to a grasshopper and I was always the outsider, so in a way this character is the guy I never got to be,” Hjelmgren said.
Aside from stretching to play in an unfamiliar experience, Hjelmgren said he also had to learn to play a new instrument to fill the role.
“I don’t play guitar, so it was a challenge to learn how to play enough guitar and the singing in the show in order to pull off the performance, so I thought it would be a neat challenge,” Hjelmgren said.
He explained the show has the depth to touch even those who can’t connect directly with the core message.
“I think regret and living in the past is somewhat universal,” Hjelmgren said. “There is no one who lives their life without thinking about what might have happened or what decisions they could have made that would have changed their trajectory, put it in on a more upward slope, so that’s a universal trait.”
Two of the cast are new to the theater, Mark Craig and Cindy Garrison Hardy. They will make their debuts on Pilot Point’s stage, though neither are new to acting onstage.
“I tell people I was an actor by day and jailer by night,” Craig said. “I was on the night shift, so I could keep my days open, but as a result, it rolled out doing plays because all the rehearsal times are at night. After being 20 years out of the theater, this was a good way to get back in and get that feel again.”
Craig acts professionally and has an acting school in Denton. Garrison Hardy is a community theater regular, having performed at Butterfi eld in Gainsville and others.
Garrison Hardy fills an oft spoken of and rarely seen role in the show as Mrs. Vida Powers.
“She’s a certified religious nut who used to be a fun date back in the day,” Garrison Hardy said. “Perhaps her hyper religiosity is compensation for some loose pleasure she enjoyed back in the day. It’s just a great role, a powerhouse role and very complex character. I’m only really in one scene but have a lot to do.”
Bawcom praised his cast for the work they’ve put into the show.
“This is one of the most well cast shows I’ve done,” Bawcom said. “The actors fit their roles really well, and everyone has been a joy to work with, easy to work with and very committed to the show. I wish they could all be like this.”
The show will run from Friday-Sunday and May 1618 with Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are available at pilotpointoperahouse. org.
“A lot of people in this community can relate to some of the characters and will recognize them from people they know in their own lives,” Bawcom said. “This show has something for everyone. It plays a lot like a comedy, so it’s easy to watch, but there are a lot of surprises.”
