'LOST' Writer's Play Opens Thursday At Mile Square Theatre

In The Pavilion, Peter and Kari, two small town high school sweethearts, meet for the first time in twenty years at their class reunion. As a seventeen year old, Peter did one of the worst things a man can do to a woman, and still wants forgiveness.

But Kari can't let go of the past.

“Sorry is just a noise people make when nothing else can happen,” she says.

You can learn what Peter did to Kari and whether she ever changes her mind by watching the Mile Square Theatre's production of the play beginning Thursday night at 8 p.m.

The Pavilion, which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, was written by Craig Wright, who wrote episodes for the award-winning television shows Six Feet Under and LOST.

For Chris O'Connor, the artistic director who directed The Pavilion, the play represents a return to his acting roots. O'Connor starred as Peter during the play's premiere in 2000. O'Connor said that at that time, he was at a point in his own life where he could relate to Peter, the time leading into middle-age when people become especially introspective about their past.

“It was an honor to be originating the production,” O'Connor said. “When you do that as an actor your work informs where the playwright goes with it.”

O'Connor said his experience in the role shaped the way he directed Greg Jackson, who plays Peter in the new production.

“I think that Greg brings his own take on it,” O'Connor said. “I thought, how do I let Greg come to the play without me over-managing him, which I didn't have to. His instincts were really appropriate to the character.”

Jackson's Peter is paired with Dena Tyler's Kari. Tyler has appeared in shows across New York City and in the television sitcom 30 Rock.

“I don't know if I could find an actor more appropriate for that role,” O'Connor said. “You could just see her as a high school sweetheart. Her instincts are really great, and she and Peter have really great chemistry together.”

Matthew Lawler, the associate artistic director for the Mile Square Theatre, completes the three actor cast in a challenging dual role. He is the play's sagacious narrator - a role reminiscent of the Stage Manager in the classic Our Town - and portrays over a dozen individual male and female characters, ranging from compassionate to buffoonish, who mingle with Peter and Kari at the reunion.

“We spent lots of time one on one experimenting, figuring out how to physicialize the characters,” O'Connor said. “It's very exciting to see Matt showing his range as an actor.”

The play is broken into two parts, with a heated exchange between Peter and Kari that closes the first act, followed by a long, emotionally versatile dialogue between the two that brings the story to its conclusion.

To find out whether Peter and Kari reconcile, you can see The Pavilion during 8 p.m. performances from April 12 through 14, April 19 through April 21, and April 26 through 28, with 3 p.m. matinee performances the following Sundays. For tickets, visit the Mile Square Theatre website, and see the play's trailer here.