Two great American authors, Nathanael West and F. Scott Fitzgerald, died in December 1940. In Last Train to Nibroc, playwright Arlene Hutton puts a wannabe missionary named May and a rejected soldier (and wannabe writer) named Raleigh on the train that carried the novelists’ bodies from the West Coast. As they ride, Raleigh and May discover they’re from neighboring Appalachian towns. So he decides that, instead of going to New York as planned, he’ll take May to Kentucky’s Nibroc festival (never mind that the real-life music fest wasn’t founded until 12 years later). After meeting at the same place over the next few years, they eventually fall in love. Actors’ Summit opens its production of the romantic tale at 8 tonight, with performances running through February 28 at Actors’ Summit Theatre (86 Owen Brown St., Hudson, 330.342.0800). Tickets: $16- $29. — Michael Gill
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2010.
My wife and I saw the show on opening night. It was wonderful. A real story about love (not too sweet) in simpler times. The acting is terrific and they capture the 1940s wonderfully. Great date show!