LTCC Theater Arts Department presents 'Lone Star' and 'Laundry and Bourbon'

The Lake Tahoe Community College Theatre Arts Department is proud to present an hilarious evening of theatre with the duet, “Lone Star” and “Laundry and Bourbon,” two companion one-act comedies by renowned playwright, James McLure. The production is directed by Susan Boulanger.

Performances are November 15, 16, 17 at 8:00 p.m, and November 18 at 2:00 p.m.
Tickets: $10 General Admission, $7.00 Seniors, $5.00 Students with valid I.D., and children under 13; free for veterans and active military. Children under 6 will not be allowed in the theatre.

McLure is known for his plays addressing the challenges soldiers faced returning from the Viet Nam war. In “Lone Star” and “Laundry and Bourbon,” McLure mixes hilarity and poignancy as we meet Roy, who has a hard time adjusting to life after the war, and Elizabeth, his wife, who struggles to keep the home fires burning as Roy tries to find himself.

In “Laundry and Bourbon,” it’s 1976 and the setting is the front porch of Roy and Elizabeth's home in Maynard, Texas, on a hot summer afternoon. The laughs fly as Elizabeth and her friend Hattie fold laundry, sipping bourbon and Coke, and gossip about the many open secrets which are so much a part of small-town life. They are joined by the self-righteous Amy Lee who can't resist blurting out that Roy has been seen around town with another woman.

While the ensuing conversation is increasingly edged with humor, from it emerges a sense of Elizabeth's inner strength and her quiet understanding of the turmoil which has beset her husband since his return from Vietnam. “Lone Star,” the hilarious companion piece to “Laundry and Bourbon,” takes place around the same time behind Angel’s Bar in Maynard. Roy, once the local high-school hero, is back in town after a hitch in Vietnam and trying to reconnect to his life before the war, a life that no longer exists.

Joined by his younger brother, Ray, who was rejected by the Draft, Roy sets about consuming a case of beer while regaling Ray with tales of his military and amorous exploits. Roy cherishes three things above all; his country, his
wife, and his 1959 pink Thunderbird. Once the nerdy Cletis arrives, secrets come out and Roy’s life will never be the same.
Some mature language and subject matter.

"Mr. McLure's strongest suit is dialogue, salty comic banter that derives from colorful indigenous characters." —NY Times.

"LONE STAR is an uproarious comedy about two bawdily rambunctious Texas brothers peppered with the playwright's own special brand of cascading, spontaneous wit." — NY Times.