'The Melville Boys'

By Robert Walling and Katie Deem
The Department of Theatre will present Canadian playwright Norm Foster’s “The Melville Boys” Dec. 9-11 in the College Theatre.

The play centers around two brothers, Lee and Owen Melville, who attempt to escape work from the factory by revisiting their childhood getaway. As the two brothers settle in, they encounter two sisters, Mary and Loretta. Owen, played by Allen Withrow, and Loretta, played by Brandi Wolfe, decide to “have a little fun” before he is to be married to another woman.

Lee, played by WVUP Theatre second-timer and independent film extra Kaleb G. Smith, is still contemplating his recent trips to the doctor, and is wondering if his brother and family are strong enough to face the worst. By his side, played by Katie Rowley, is Mary, a woman who is in denial that her husband, who has long since abandoned her, will return.

Norm Foster is dubbed “Canada’s Most-Produced Playwright.” He was born in Newmarket, Ontario, but raised in the capital, Toronto. He attended West Hill Collegiate Institute College in Thunder Bay. In 1980, after 25 years of a career in radio, Norm was introduced to the world of theatre. Foster is regarded as the Canadian Neil Simon.

Foster’s latest masterpieces include “Looking,” first produced at the Victoria Playhouse in Petrolia, Ontario, and “Sitting Pretty,” with Steve Thomas, at the Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover, Ontario, in 2005, and “Outlaw,” first produced at Theatre Orangeville in Orangeville,Ontario, in 2004.

The Toronto Globe & Mail says, “Norm Foster has a knack for creating winning characters and situations that make audiences respond with affection.”

There are evening performances scheduled Dec. 9 and Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. at the College Theater. A Sunday matinee will be shown on Dec. 11 at 2 p.m. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2 for students.

A free sneak-peek preview will be presented free of charge on Thursday, Dec. 8 at 8 p.m. The sneak preview is for WVUP students only. A question-and-answer discussion will follow the preview. Any professor interested in requiring students to attend can contact Carson Soelberg at carson.soelberg@mail.wvu.edu.