We've got a fundraiser coming soon!

Pegasus Theater Company presents The Oldest Profession by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Paula Vogel. Directed by Nancy Hansen, with musical direction by Kit Mariah, the play opens September 3 at the Rio Nido Lodge.

The Oldest Profession is one of the rare plays that feature exclusively older women in sexy, smart and funny roles. Of the five characters in this play, the youngest is 65, and the oldest is eighty. They are all prostitutes still in the game, some of whom got their start in the fabled bordellos of Storyville in New Orleans. We meet them in 1980 on the Upper West Side of New York City, just as gentrification and supply-side economics is transforming the neighborhood and the country, and some of their long-term elderly clients (never anonymous "johns") are dying off. While the women operate their business in the old style, with a madam and a stable (no pimp for them), the economic issues they must confront remain, unfortunately, very timely today.

As the women reveal their humanity, the tight bond of their friendship, their individualism and their still very sensual selves, we see how shallow the stereotypes are that would define us by what we do for a living or by how old we are. The playwright includes a cautionary note to would-be directors of her play that best captures its spirit: "… it doesn't matter what pew you sit in, in what church you worship, if you know what I mean … if a smart, sexy, sassy woman doesn't make you see the face of God … you have the wrong play. You've got to love women."

The remarkable veteran actors who inhabit these roles to the fullest are Diana Grogg, Jana Molina, Lois Pearlman, Michelle Randall and Noel Yates. The play is greatly enhanced by the burlesque songs the women sing, which were considered risqué in their time but which are still very entertaining, toe-tapping tunes. The highly talented Kit Mariah provides musical direction, and the singers are accompanied by Gordon Stubbe, playing honky-tonk piano.

The show runs September 3 through September 26, with evening performances Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sunday matinees at 4 p.m. The champagne gala opening is on Saturday, September 4. Fridays are pay-what-you-can, and all other performances are $20, except the gala which is $25.

Fundraiser September 19

In order to provide our audience with comfortable theater seats, and to purchase other equipment indispensable to its productions, Pegasus is holding a fundraiser on Sunday, September 19, on the lawn of the Rio Nido Roadhouse, from 6 – 9 p.m. Music to dance and listen to will be provided by Jake Richmond and Friends, a popular local blues and rock band, featuring vocalist Leah Miller. There will be complimentary appetizers, courtesy of the Roadhouse restaurant, and food and drink will be available for purchase. Raffle prizes have been generously donated by a wonderful and wide array of businesses, and include dinner at area restaurants, kayak trips on the river, and a haircut, and gift certificates from retail shops selling coffee, tea, wine, herbal remedies, good shoes, arts, crafts and books, to name just a few. Admission is $15, which includes a raffle ticket. The Rio Nido Roadhouse is located in the first block of Canyon Two Road in Rio Nido, which is the eastern entrance to Rio Nido. For more information, contact pegasustheater@yahoo.com.