Urbanite Theatre goes underground with drama ‘Northside Hollow’
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The stage lighting comes from your head.
One of the cool things about “Northside Hollow,” which is the next production from Sarasota’s Urbanite Theatre, is that some audience members will wear miner’s hardhats, the kind with lights on the front. Those lights will, at least partially, provide the lighting for the action on stage.
It sounds a little gimmicky, but it has a purpose. The play concerns a man who is trapped in a collapsed coal mine. Desperate and alone, he eventually gets some solace when a rescuer finds his way to him. But then the two men hear the sound of a rock slide above them, and fear that they are now trapped together. They soon discover that they have a curious amount in common. As death becomes a real possibility, their connection unearths deeper revelations about acceptance and spiritual refuge. The unusual lighting scheme adds to the claustrophobia and ominous mood.
The play, by Jonathan Fielding and Brenda Withers, premiered in 2015. It hasn’t been staged often, but at least one previous production has featured the same kind of lighting. Reviews of both the script and the lighting effect have been enthusiastic.
Summer Dawn Wallace, Urbanite’s co-artistic director, directs the production, which features David H. Littleton and Christopher Joel Onken.
Details: Jan. 25-March 11, Urbanite Theatre, 1487 Second St., Sarasota. 8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $29; under age 40 (with ID) $20; students (with ID) $5. 941-321-1397, urbanitetheatre.com.
Marty Clear: 941-708-7919, @martinclear
This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Urbanite Theatre goes underground with drama ‘Northside Hollow’."