34 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY MAY 11-17, 2023 www.montereycountyweekly.com ONSTAGE There’s not much Carmel director and writer Tom Parks wants his audience to know about the play The Interview—A Mystery before they come to see it. Fair enough. But Parks wants them to leave the Carl Cherry Center even more bewildered, he says, if properly entertained. Thoughts will certainly be provoked by this new original play, followed by—perhaps—a sleepless night haunted by questions: Could it really be? Is it possible at all? “I can’t reveal anything else than is already revealed in the press release,” he says, the creator’s joy and some mischief in his eyes. While being interviewed during dress rehearsals a week before the Friday, May 12 opening, Parks is still not sure how effectively he was able to pull off his trick, and how quickly the audience will pick up on clues. Here’s what is revealed: A retired journalist, a former hot shot who drinks too much, gets an assignment to write about an old artist living in a small town in Oregon. The profile seems like a straightforward job, until the journalist meets his intriguing, lively interlocutor. Who is this woman with a foreign accent, an abstract painter (but clearly so much more than a painter) who kept moving West until she found no more West to move to? This is not Parks’ first play at the Cherry, or even his first “Interview.” A play titled Interview, featuring Carol Daly as Gertrude Stein and Keith Decker as Charles Lindbergh, was staged there in 2021. Now, Daly as We’d-Rather-DieThan-Tell-You-Who and Decker as journalist Charlie Simpson, return on stage in The Interview—A Mystery. Daly is marvelous with her European accent and old lady ways—distant, scary, charming and psychologically complex. The dialogue is wonderful and lets everyday simple humor come to the surface of a much more serious reflection on the mysteries of history and human nature. For Parks, this production has been a long time coming. “This [play] has been on my mind for the last 25 years. I couldn’t figure out how to do it.” Then he came up with an idea. “I thought I would use a journalist to tell the story,” Parks says. “And as he starts to tell the story, he walks into the past and meets her.” The Interview—A Mystery 7:30pm Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 Sundays from May 12 through June 4. Carl Cherry Center for the Arts, 4th and Guadalupe, Carmel. $25. 717-7373, carlcherrycenter.org. DANIEL DREIFUSS What If An original mystery play by Tom Parks proves that the smallest towns can hide the biggest secrets. By Agata Pop˛eda Keith Decker, as veteran journalist Charlie Simpson, and Carol Daly, as a mysterious old artist who is hiding in a coastal Western town not unlike Carmel. What is she hiding? Low cost vaccination clinic for dogs & cats. Microchipping. Prescription flea/tick medication. OPEN SAT 3:30PM-5:30PM • SUN 10AM-1PM Baby Chicks are here! 101 W. Laurel Dr, Salinas • (831)443-6161 Mon-Sat 9am-6pm Sun 10am-5pm $5 OFF Any purchase of $25 or more $10 OFF Any purchase of $50 or more $20 OFF Any purchase of $100 or more CANNOT BE COMBINED WITH OTHER OFFERS. LIMIT 1 COUPON PER CUSTOMER. NOT VALID ON HAY SHAVINGS, FRONTLINE/ADVANTAGE, OR SERESTO COLLARS. MUST PRESENT COUPON AT TIME OF PURCHASE. Ready for your Chick Up? Quality feed & pet supplies • DIY dog & cat vaccines • Premium hay at great prices EvEry MONDAy, tuEsDAy AND wEDNEsDAys 4-9pm 877 Broadway ave, SeaSide • 831-747-1106
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