It’s just about 6 p.m. on a Sunday evening and the sky is beginning to show some streaks of gold over the mountains. Donna is finishing her shift at the movie house. Up the street, the hardware store left the rakes, wheelbarrows and rocking chairs right out on the sidewalk. Dogs are being walked on leashes, babies strolled in strollers. Over there is the Congregational Church, across the way is the Presbyterian, the Baptist is down the road a-ways past Town Hall.

 

In the middle of the main street is Mr. O’s drugstore, where you’ll find just about anything you need tucked somewhere inside. There’s a coffee shop up the block a bit where lots of folks stop in once or twice a day to say hello. There’s a theater here, a theater there; actors and singers rehearsing and galleries filled with art every which way you turn.

 

Yes, it’s a real nice town. And on this particular evening the lights are still shining brightly inside a little brick building on the corner — the one with a banner hanging outside. Where something pretty wonderful is about to happen . . .

 

Pardon the nod to “Our Town,” but there are times when Tryon can seem very much like the Grover’s Corners of Thornton Wilder’s play.

 

A couple of weeks ago, at the Upstairs Artspace, a “sold-out” audience waited patiently for admittance to a free staged reading of “True West” by Sam Shepard. Most had reservations, a few didn’t; some folks just wandered in on a beautiful night to see what the commotion was about.

 

Tryon is truly a remarkable place; filled with writers, performers, sculptors, painters, potters, musicians, dancers, singers and actors. The air here is filled with energy and inhabited by a community embracing the perks of the creative life. And judging from the hugs and joyful greetings — and the cookies and brownies on the table awaiting the theater lovers — perhaps one of those perks is human fellowship and camaraderie.

 

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response from the audience in attendance for that first show, the generous actors involved in this reading have decided to perform once again for those folks who were unable to attend the original, due to limited space.

 

It is with great pleasure that the Underground at Upstairs Artspace announces a command performance of “True West,” presented free of charge. Please join us Sunday evening, April 10, at 6 p.m., at Upstairs Artspace, located in Tryon at 49 South Trade Street, for a night of exciting, ground-breaking dramatic writing and the exceptional talent of actors Molly Brown, Connie Clark, Susan Kocher and Mark Morales.

 

As always, a limited number of seats are available and reservations are required. Phone 828-859-2828 to reserve your seat for this free performance, expected to run approximately 90 minutes. Although there is no charge for this event, donations are greatly appreciated to help support the community programs presented by the Upstairs.

 

– Submitted by Catherine Gillet