SCR/Party Play with Ann Conway

Playwrights Circle members who gathered for dinner at Scott's Seafood before the show: back row, Tom Rogers, Sally Anderson, Laurie Staude, Richard Taylor, Wylie Aitken, John Murphy; front row, Jane Taylor, Playwright Julie Marie Myatt, Bette Aitken, Sue Murphy

Playwright Julie Marie Myatt and Martin Benson

WAITING GAME CONTINUES AT 'WANDERING'' BASH
By Ann Conway

"He has to be somewhere," deadpanned Bette Aitken, as she 'searched' for a man she knew would be a no-show at the party celebrating the April 6 world premiere on Segerstrom Stage of My Wandering Boy. “Can’t somebody introduce me to him?”

The missing guest, of course, was Emmett, the free spirit in Julie Marie Myatt's fascinating tale about a young man who makes an emotional impact on people as he weaves in and out of their lives, and then just inexplicably disappears, never to return.

The setting for the post-production party (where a tongue-in-cheek table was set up for the mysterious Emmett) was the idyllic Lakeside at the Wyndham Hotel, just a stroll away from SCR, where waiters lined a lighted path, offering theater-goers appetizers and champagne.

Among those enjoying the enchanting scene were actors Purva Bedi, who portrayed one of 30-year-old Emmett's girlfriends; Brent Hinkley, who played the homeless man who makes friends with a pair of Emmett's discarded boots; and Veralyn Jones, who also played a love interest of the Godot-like main character. Also joining the crowd was Charlie Robinson; who brought the detective, Howard, to life; John Cabrera, who played Rooster Forbes and got stuck with Emmett's dog; and Emmett's 'parents' played by Elizabeth Rustico and Richard Doyle.

Other First Nighters included members of The Playwrights Circle, Honorary Producers of My Wandering Boy; and Michelle Rohé, Rebekah Gladson and Paul Cooley, Marian Burgeson Michael Dixon of The Guthrie theatre.

Bette and Wylie Aiken with actor Purva Bedi	Chris Anderson and son Paul, Playwrights Circle members Tom Rogers, Sally Anderson
Actor Purva Bedi sign autographs for young audience members	Paul Cooley, Rebekah Gladson and actor Charlie Robinson.
Betty and S.L. Huang (right) with their guests David and Victoria Collins	Actor John Cabrera, Stage Manager Randall Lum, Founding Artist Richard Doyle
Michael and Nancy Meyer, actor Brent Hinkley, Playwrights Circle members Sally Anderson and Tom Rogers	Playwright Julie Marie Myatt and David Emmes
SCR Founding Artist Richard Doyle and Rick Reiff, executive editor OCBJ, media partner	Playwrights Circle members Tom Rogers and Sally Anderson, Mary Ann Brown and Rick Reiff
Wyndham server offers tray to Linda White, Bob and Ann Myers, Tod White	Harriett Wieder and actor Purva Bedi