Past Shows
49 Miles
"Director
Rebecca Novick guides her appealing cast...through some wonderful ensemble
work as the actors take on a tremendous variety of roles and bounce around
the stage on a giant orange ball, a see-saw, and a trampoline."
— Chad Jones, Oakland Tribune
"Allen has a wonderful ear and a lyric gift... and
Rebecca Novick's direction is playful and precise."
— Brad Rosenstein, S.F. Bay Guardian
49 Miles
by Trevor Allen
directed by Rebecca Novick
Crowded Fire
and Black Box Theatre presented the world premiere of 49
Miles October – November, 2001 at The EXIT on Taylor in San
Francisco.
49 Miles encapsulates the wanderings of a homeless writer (a John Doe), who records other people's conversations on a tape recorder as he travels San Francisco's 49 Mile Scenic Drive, until he's hit by a tour bus. As he lies dying, a crowd of seven people gathers around him and then acts out his memories of the drive. Utilizing monologues that seamlessly blend into rich, overlapping dialogue, 49 Miles is an orchestral play that suggests, like stars in a constellation, all people are interconnected, no matter their racial, sexual, or political background. A multicultural cast of seven actors play more than 60 characters, from an older Asian man and an African-American shoe shiner to an elderly Hispanic woman to Latina teenagers on Muni. Homeless philosophers, jealous husbands, society women, stand-upcomics and even Emperor Norton all converge and separate, while buffalo and wild parrots make cameo appearances in this play for San Francisco natives and tourists alike.
Featuring: Charles Blackburn, Matthew Chavez, Kim Fowler, Linda
Jones, Roxana Ortega, Alan Quismorio, and Mark Phillips*
Voices: Paul Gerrior and Paul Lancour
Scenic Design: Melpomene Katakalos
Costume Design: Jocelyn Leiser
Lighting Design: James Mulligan
Photography: Jeff Prucher
Sound Design: Grant Huberty
Design Assistance: Pegeen McGhan
Stage Managemer: Catherine Nueva Espana
Assistant Stage Manager: Sam Shaw
Assitant Director: Paul Lancour
*Member Actors' Equity Association. 49 Miles was
an Equity-