Now Showing
Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid by Jeff Daniels |
Extended by popular demand through September 27!Hard on the heels of Escanaba In Love, Daniels introduces his first Western. This winsome comedy tells the fateful tale of a prairie showdown between a vagrant outlaw and a singing cowboy. Thrown together by unfortunate circumstances, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid argue the virtues of mayhem, music and the meaning of life. This World Premiere features original songs, as well as scoundrels, six-guns and a horse named Buttermilk.
"I have probably written no less than six versions over the past ten years," says Daniels about his newest script. "In this play, my characters led the way. They spoke to each other, fed me information, held things back, stopped me when I veered off ... They took me to my ending and before I knew it, had showed me what it was I had been trying to write for the past ten years." (read more ...)
Directed by Guy Sanville, the cast of Panhandle Slim & The Oklahoma Kid includes former PRTC apprentice Jessica Garrett (Sea of Fools), PRTC Resident Artist Phil Powers (Vino Veritas, When The Lights Come On), PRTC Associate Artist John Seibert (Sea of Fools, The Mystery of Irma Vep), and PRTC Associate Artist Tom Whalen (Honus And Me, The Glass Menagerie).
This production includes set design by Dennis G. Crawley, prop design by Danna Segrest, costume design by Christianne Myers, lighting design by Reid G. Johnson and sound design by Quintessa Gallinat. Michelle DiDomenico stage manages with Stephanie Buck as assistant stage manager.
Directed by Guy Sanville and featuring PRTC Associate Artists John Seibert and Tom Whalen, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid will run from Thursday, June 19 through Saturday, August 30, 2008 .
Originally scheduled to close on August 30, 2008, Panhandle Slim and The Oklahoma Kid was extended by popular demand through Saturday, September 27, 2008. Tickets for the extension go on sale beginning Monday, August 4; annual PRTC donors of $250 or more may purchase tickets beginning on Monday, July 28, 2008. Advance group reservations are available now at (734) 433-ROSE (7673).
Sponsored by 
Half-price tickets are available for added Two-for-Tuesday matinee and evening performances through the generous sponsorship of 
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"... Jeff Daniels has given us a cowboy story with plenty of laughs, but also with moments that are touchingly tender and thoughtful."
Robert Delaney
Detroit Monitor
"Charm, humor, pathos: Daniels' new play has it all."
Susan Isaacs Nisbett
Ann Arbor News
"... an insightful journey through a dying man's final moments - when past sins are revisited and unrealized dreams are mourned. But while Destiny may have dealt Panhandle Slim a losing hand, Daniels delivers yet another smartly written comedy that will surely rustle up enthusiastic crowds this summer ..."
Don Calamia
Between The Lines
"... a deceptively terrific new play ... Like Daniels' "Escanaba in Love," it lulls us with some early goofiness ... Then it adds warmth and spirituality."
Mike Hughes
Lansing State Journal
"... one of Daniels' most interesting plays to date, taking his craft to a whole new level."
Terry Pow
Jackson Citizen Patriot
"Working economically and with a richness of character reminiscent of short stories by Elmore Leonard, Daniels and director Guy Sanville fashion a play that is at once moving and bizarrely funny." Four out of four stars
John Monaghan
Detroit Free Press