Brilliant Traces goes to Seattle

Last year the Actors Theater of Orcas Island staged “Brilliant Traces,” critically acclaimed play by Cindy Lou Johnson, starring Melinda Milligan and Norm Stamper, former Seattle police chief. Directed by community theater luminary Doug Bechtel, the production proved to be the most popular in the history the Actors Theater, drawing a full house each night, and generating rave reviews. In response to numerous requests, ATOI is proud to announce a nine-performance run of the same play in Seattle. Performances are set for three weekends in late October and early November at Richard Hugo House.

Since retiring in 2000, Stamper has continued speaking out for causes he believes in: prevention of domestic violence, an end to the drug war, and other issues of social justice. Few people are aware, however, that Stamper, living in a cabin in the woods for the last decade, has also pursued a passion denied him during his 34-year career in law enforcement. He has become a community theater actor, taking courses and honing his craft. In his first full-length role, Stamper plays Henry Harry, a lonely, embittered hermit who lives in a converted barn deep in the remote woods of Alaska. Henry is awakened in the middle of the night by a stranger: Milligan’s Rosannah DeLuce who has fled an impending marriage and is, herself, emotionally wounded and distraught.

Melinda Milligan is an exceptional actor, mastering all the rage, confusion and humor Rosannah brings to Henry’s door. Milligan has played leading roles in “Wait Until Dark,” “Enchanted April,” and the female version of “The Odd Couple,” among others. In addition to her acting, Milligan is the lead singer with the Olga Symphony, a group that has been entertaining Orcas Island locals, as well as audiences throughout Western Washington and British Columbia for over 20 years. Fans of the long-running “Sandy Bradley’s Potluck” on KUOW may have heard Milligan’s beautiful voice during one of those popular Saturday morning shows.

Together, Rosannah and Henry, in the words of the playwright, “alternately repel and attract each other…. In the end, their very isolation proves to be the catalyst that allows them to break through the web of old grief and bitter feelings…and to reach out for the solace and sanctuary that only hard-won understanding, self-awareness and compassion for the plight of others can bestow.”

Frank Rich wrote of “Brilliant Traces” in the New York Times, “Ms. Johnson has spun an alternately comic and anguished fable about contemporary men and women who run away from home—whether from parents, children or mates—and she has written it with an imaginative disregard for pedantic reality. [The play deals with] common issues of love and family…with characters, stories and dialogue so fantastic that they could exist only within the enchanted realm of the stage.”

“Brilliant Traces” plays at Hugo House, 1634 11th Avenue on Capitol Hill, October 21-24, October 29-30 and November 5-7. All performances begin at 8 pm.

Opening Night, October 21st will be a fund raiser for the Seattle Non profit organization New Beginnings an organization dedicated to providing shelter, advocacy and support for battered women and their children; and changing attitudes and social institutions that foster and perpetuate violence. 100% of the revenue from ticket sales will be donated to New Beginnings. For more information visit: www.newbegin.org

Tickets are available at Brown Paper Tickets.

View Poster of Brilliant Traces