Questions For Superman

Colleton County's local thespian group, the Lowcountry Community Players, continues its summer series of theatrical events at 3 p.m. Sunday.

You're welcome to join the players at Marvin Park behind the University of South Carolina-Salkehatchie in Walterboro for three readings - one of which is "The Saga of Superman" by Pulitzer Prize author Jules Feiffer.

There will be two other readings (see below) but as you'll no doubt notice the notion of a conversation with Superman has inspired the rest of this post.

The Colleton Now staff (who is not a huge fan and is in fact waiting for the new movie to come out on DVD) has compiled a list of questions we (I) would like to ask the man in tights, if ever given the chance. Here they are:

• You can leap tall buildings in a single bound and run faster than a speeding train ... what's so special about your glasses that when you put them on people think you're Clark Kent and not ... Superman in glasses.

• What's more difficult: Saving the world as Superman or staying awake during a five-hour Metropolis water and sewer meeting while disguised as your alias, reporter Clark Kent?

• Does the Daily Planet require you to blog, and if so, just how many hits a day are you getting? By the way, how's their benefits?

• OK, enough with the reporter questions. While saving the world over and over, do you ever run into people - other than Lois Lane - who seem to need saving over and over again? At what point do you tell them to get their own cat out of the tree?

OK, maybe not the best questions. Maybe some of yours will be answered Sunday. Here's the Players' press release that details all of the readings on that day:

The second program of “Theater in the Park” will be this Sunday, July 23 at 3:00 P.M. in Marvin Park at the USC Salkehatchie/Walterboro campus. This summer series of theatrical events is co-sponsored by the Lowcountry Community Players and USC Salkehatchie/Walterboro.

The first two vignettes in Sunday’s performance are ‘The World According to Bernard’ and ‘The Saga of Superman’ by Pulitzer Prize cartoonist, humorist, playwright, and author of children’s books, Jules Feiffer. Much of his adult humor is based on the complications that come from male-female relationships. Bernard Mergendeiler is one of Feiffer’s most popular cartoon characters. We quickly discover that how Bernard views himself and how the world sees him are two entirely different viewpoints. The readers include Sherry Cawley, Andrew Cogswell, and Ansley Bailey.

Have you ever wondered why Superman wears those bright red tights with the blue cape?  If you have every wanted the opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with Superman or any other superhero, you will really enjoy ‘The Saga of Superman.’ The readers include   T. K. Alexander, Gilda Barnwell, and Deron Smith.

The final selection for the July program is James Thurber’s delightful sketch about a middle-aged dreamer. Walter Mitty is considered an American Classic short story and appears in many high school literature books. The sketch also appeared in ‘A Thurber Carnival,’ which won Thurber a Tony Award for the original  Broadway production.

The audience quickly discovers that Walter Mitty’s dream world is just so much more interesting than the world he really lives in that each of us wants to join him. The reader’s for “The Adventures of Walter Mitty” include Beth Smith, Janice Alexander, Andrew Cogswell, Deron Smith, and T. K. Alexander.
Relax in the shade and beauty of Marvin Park and enjoy these three entertaining selections brought to you by the Lowcountry Community Player’s Reader’s Theatre. All performances for Theater in the Park are free. Be sure to bring your own chairs. For more information, contact Deron Smith at 843-893-3151.