Steubenville is the setting for Little Lake comedy “Mrs. Mannerly”
Patricia Cena Fuchel, left, and Arjun Kumar star in the Little Lake Theatre production of "Mrs. Mannerly."
Patricia Cena Fuchel, left, and Arjun Kumar star in "Mrs. Mannerly" at Little Lake Theatre.
Director Carley Adams, center, works with Patricia Cena Fuchel, left, and Arjun Kumar, right, during a rehearsal of "Mrs. Mannerly."
Patricia Cena Fuchel rehearses a scene in "Mrs. Mannerly" while Arjun Kumar looks on.
Arjun Kumar, left, and Patricia Cena Fuchel star in the Little Lake Theatre production of "Mrs. Mannerly."
Patricia Cena Fuchel stars as the etiquette maven Mrs. Mannerly in "Mrs. Mannerly" at Little Lake Theatre.
Arjun Kumar, left, and Patricia Cena Fuchel rehearse a scene in Little Lake Theatre's production of "Mrs. Mannerly."
Steubenville, Ohio, is the birthplace of Dean Martin, the band Wild Cherry and is known as the “City of Murals.”
It’s also the setting for the comedy “Mrs. Mannerly,” which follows the adventures of a 10-year-old boy attending etiquette school in Steubenville in 1967, just as the Summer of Love and the counterculture were making manners training seem fusty and obsolete.
“Mrs. Mannerly” will be staged by Little Lake Theatre in North Strabane, Washington County, starting Aug. 12 and continuing through Aug. 21. It is part of a season that has emphasized comedy and lighter fare to give audiences a break from a world still grappling with COVID-19 and other varieties of upheaval. At the outset of the season, Little Lake had planned on staging its shows in an outdoor performance space, but the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions led the company to move its presentations back inside, though at limited capacity.
“Mrs. Mannerly” debuted in 2007 at the Illusion Theater in Miineapolis, and was penned by Jeffrey Hatcher, a Steubenville native. Hatcher’s other credits include stage adaptations of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and the Henry James novel “The Turn of the Screw,” along with screenplays for such movies as “Mr. Holmes” and “Casanova.” He also co-wrote the stage adaptation of “Tuesdays With Morrie” with columnist Mitch Albom. The lead character in “Mrs. Mannerly” is named, yes, Jeffrey Hatcher, so it is clearly autobiographical.
Jena Oberg, Little Lake’s artistic director, said the Steubenville setting of “Mrs. Mannerly” was “a happy accident more than a reason to choose it.”
Much of the intrigue and humor in “Mrs. Mannerly” springs from the fact that the young Hatcher is determined to get a perfect score on the final etiquette test, an achievement none of Mrs. Mannerly’s other students has ever attained, and the fact that Hatcher knows something about his teacher’s past. When the Broadway World site reviewed “Mrs. Mannerly” is 2017, it said, “This unique and sweetly comic take reveals truths about the face we present versus the fact that lies from public viewing. It is a gentle look back at a time in America that has long passed.”
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Aug. 12-13; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Aug 14; 2 p.m. Aug. 15; 7:30 p.m. Aug. 19-20; and 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21. For information , visit www.littlelaketheatre.org.