Summers are hot enough in the Lone Star State, so imagine what happens when one family's problems come to a boil within a trailer. Emotional (and actual) fireworks are present as an agoraphobic widow, her gambling-addict mother and convict sister come together on the Fourth of July.
Audiences can feel the heat in person during the University of Houston's production of the comedy "Buy One, Get Five Free" April 3 - 19 in the Jose Quintero Theatre.
Written by playwright Amy Lanasa, the play takes its cues from a host of characters she encountered on cross-state road trips with her family. Likewise, the play's title is adapted from the signs promoting these stands.
"We were driving from north Texas to Beaumont on a regular basis," she said. "Along the way, there would be nothing around except fireworks stands. So, we'd stop and I would meet these people, who all were quite interesting and in many ways, provided the blueprints for these characters."
The UH production of "Buy One, Get Five Free" reunites Lanasa, assistant professor of theater at New Mexico State University, with former teacher Steven Wallace, director for UH's School of Theatre & Dance. Lanasa studied under Wallace when he oversaw theater programs at the University of Oklahoma and Florida State University.
Tickets for "Buy One, Get Five Free" are $20; $15 for UH faculty, staff and alumni; $10 for students, seniors or groups of 10 or more. Ticket information can be obtained by calling the Wortham Theatre box office at (713) 743-2929. For more information about the UH School of Theatre, visit the Web site http://www.theatredance.uh.edu/.
WHAT: "Buy One, Get Five Free"
WHEN: April 3 - 19
8 p.m., Wednesdays - Saturdays
2 p.m., Sundays*
*There is no performance on Easter Sunday, April 12
WHERE: University of Houston
Jose Quintero Theatre
Houston, TX 77204-4016
WHO: University of Houston School of Theatre & Dance