'A Fabulous Drama'

Classic ‘Splendor in the Grass’ is directorial debut

COURTESY PHOTO Victoria Jones and Ian Miller rehearse a scene for “Splendor in the Grass” at Fort Smith Little Theatre.
COURTESY PHOTO Victoria Jones and Ian Miller rehearse a scene for “Splendor in the Grass” at Fort Smith Little Theatre.

During the last 14 years, Jill Moody-Ledbetter has worked in all capacities at Fort Smith Little Theatre except directing ... until now.

She will make her directorial debut with the play "Splendor in the Grass," which runs Thursday through Sept. 28. She chose this play for her debut because "the 1961 movie has always been a favorite of mine."

FAQ

‘Splendor in the Grass’

WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday & 2 p.m. Sunday; again Sept. 24-28

WHERE — Fort Smith Little Theatre

COST — $10-$25

INFO — 783-2966 or fslt.org

"I've just always thought it was a fabulous drama," Moody-Ledbetter says.

The screenplay was created by William Inge for the film starring Natalie Wood and Warren Beatty, and it was adapted for the stage by F. Andrew Leslie, she says. The play is set in a small Midwestern town in the late 1920s, spanning in time from 1928 to the early 1930s. It is the story of an ill-fated high school romance between Bud Stamper, the star athlete and son of the richest man in town, and Deanie Loomis, a young middle-class girl whose family runs the local mercantile store, she says.

"They want to get married, but their families are preventing them from taking the relationship further," Moody-Ledbetter says.

Bud and Deanie are portrayed by Ian Miller and Victoria Jones, both seasoned actors at the Fort Smith Little Theatre. The story shows the characters' physical desires, love, heartbreak and their struggle between not being kids anymore but not yet being adults, she says.

The plot also includes the 1929 stock market crash, which crashes the Stamper family empire. She adds that due to the adult subject matter, the play is not suitable for children.

"The story tells pretty much how we can go through struggles and heartbreak, but we find strength to move on and make our future with hopes for something better."

-- Ashley Batchelor

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NAN What's Up on 09/12/2014

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