Theatre West Reading Series - Mr. Sam’s Place

Playwright: Mark Bowen

Director: Mark Bowen

Logline: In an age where profit trumps principle, can we dare to be nostalgic for a past with principles often so wrong?

Synopsis:The night before its scheduled demolition, Councilman Willie Williams wanders into the diner looking for mementos. He is confronted by a journalist, Audrey Walker, who has followed him there for an interview. She wants to understand why Willie (the council’s lone African American representative and lone vote against the new development) is so attached to the place, and to a past that stinks so badly of Jim Crow. In telling his story, he shows us a series of flashbacks intended to paint a more accurate picture of this place’s past, and especially that of its enigmatic owner, with whom he had developed an unlikely friendship. He is determined to achieve some level of understanding from her regarding his nostalgia for the old-fashioned values that the newly dawning century is threatening. By the end of the night, we are left to wonder whether he has had any success.