Actress Quinn Hawkesworth returns to Theater of the American South to star in her adaptation of "Fair and Tender Ladies," a stage version of the beloved novel by North Carolina author Lee Smith.
Hawkesworth dazzled festival audiences last spring with her performance in "Oldest Living Confederate Widow: Her Confession."
"Fair and Tender Ladies" opens May 16 and plays Friday evenings at 8, Saturday afternoons at 2 and Sunday evenings at 7:30 through June 1 at the Boykin Center.
"Fair and Tender Ladies" features mountain woman Ivy Rowe telling her story of a rich and passionate life spent in Appalachia. In the one-woman show, Ivy speaks through a series of charming and disarming letters sent over many decades to friends, lovers and family members.
Blessed with wry humor and a remarkable capacity to love, she is able to find beauty on the steep slopes of a rocky and unforgiving place.
All of the lines of "Fair and Tender Ladies" are drawn from Smith's acclaimed novel. Published in 1988, the book was hailed as a "tour de force" by The Los Angeles Times.
"Fair and Tender Ladies" won the Weatherford Award for Appalachian Literature the year it was published.
Smith, the author of numerous other novels and story collections, is the recipient of an Academy Award in Literature presented by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Robert Penn Warren Prize and the North Carolina Award for Fiction.
Smith will deliver the festival's opening lecture May 17 at 10 a.m. in the Ragan Writing Center on the campus of Barton College.
Theater of the American South's production marks the return of Hawkesworth's adaptation to North Carolina, where it made its debut. Hawkesworth's original production was hailed as "miraculous" and "a triumph" by area critics. Hawkesworth is also performing as Ouiser in the festival's production of "Steel Magnolias."
"Quinn Hawkesworth is one of the great acting talents of our region," said Gary Cole, Theater of the American South managing director. "Our audiences are in for a real treat seeing Quinn as both Ivy in 'Fair and Tender Ladies' and Ouiser in 'Steel Magnolias.'"
Stuart Walston Inc. will be hosting an opening night reception for "Fair and Tender Ladies" beginning at 6 p.m. May 16 at 417 W. Nash St. Smith will attend the reception, which is free to all those purchasing tickets for the opening weekend of "Fair and Tender Ladies" or Theater of the American South patron tickets. Tickets to the play are $20, $18 for seniors, students and groups. Festival packages are also available. For tickets and information, contact the Arts Council of Wilson at 291-4329, ext. 10 or visit www.theateroftheamericansouth.org.