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Author:
CLYDE EDGERTON
Clyde Edgerton’s remarkable career as writer, musician, and live performer have included a prolific eight best-selling novels, among them “Killer Diller,” “Where Trouble Sleeps,” “Redeye,” “In Memory of Junior,” “The Floatplane Notebooks,” “Raney,” and “Walking Across Egypt,” the last three of which were also made into plays or films. The Los Angeles Times has said of his work, “His ear is so good it can make your hair stand on end.” His latest novel is "The Bible Salesman," which, with Mike Craver, he has developed into a story-and-song CD, and a live performance piece which he performs regularly.
www.clydeedgerton.com |
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Composer and Lyricist:
MIKE CRAVER
A North Carolina native, Mike Craver was a member of the Red Clay Ramblers for 12 years, appearing in “Diamond Studs” and “A Lie of the Mind” in N.Y., recording nine albums, and touring internationally. Shows that he has either written or co-written include “Wilder,” “Radio Gals,” “Smoke on the Mountain,” “Smoke on the Mountain Homecoming,” and “Oil City Symphony” (original cast member and Drama Desk Award). His musical melodrama, "The Belle of the Wabash," recently enjoyed its premiere with the Mighty Richland Players.
www.mikecraver.com |
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FROM CLYDE EDGERTON:
In 1996, my aunt entered a nursing home. I was a full time writer, didn't have a "day job," so I could visit her either in the morning or afternoon. I'd stop in to see her every few days. One afternoon I was trimming her toenails, and she looked over at her roommate Ernestine and said, "Don't you wish you had a nephew who could do for you like this one does for me?" Without missing a beat, Ernestine said, "I got two nephews. They both WORK." I knew a scene like that belonged in the book. Nursing homes house extreme loneliness; they also house humor and heroism. Families of nursing home residents, sometmes suffering from despair, are reluctant to talk about that despair. I decided to write a nursing home novel. And I decided to write a play inspired by the novel. I wanted the play to have music. So I asked Mike Craver, one of my favorite singer-songwriters, to write the music. Then my friend Bo Thorp agreed to produce, and Steve Umberger, another friend, agreed to direct. It first belonged to Mike and me, then to Bo, then to Steve, then to an insightful bunch of actors and musicians. Now it's yours.
FROM STEVE UMBERGER:
When long time colleague Bo Thorp at Cape Fear Regional Theatre in Fayetteville sent me "Lunch at the Piccadilly" and asked me to direct it, I said yes right away. Little did I know then that it would turn into 5 years, 4 script drafts, 3 productions, and lots of IHOP meetings ("What if this character said this...," "What if there were a song about that...," "Pass the biscuits..."). As we worked on that original production back in '06, I realized that the show had a longer life ahead. So many people out there are going through what the characters in the play are going through. It's taken a few years and a few calories, and lots of new script pages, to make this best selling novel into a musical for the stage - with all its similarities and differences, and a new ending. And it's also been great fun. I mean, how could you not enjoy working on a show in which the residents are rowdy enough to try to take over their nursing home? How do you resist what may be the first-ever musical with the words Medicare and Medicaid in the song lyrics - especially in this day and age? And how do you pass up a partnership with a team like Clyde and Mike - with or without biscuits. We've all enjoyed telling this story.
It's good to know that there are a few folks out there fighting for a fair shake, some good cornbread, and a front porch with a comfortable rocking chair for anyone who needs a seat.
WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID ABOUT CLYDE EDGERTON AND THE NOVEL "LUNCH AT THE PICCADILLY"
"Among the delights here are the smart dialogue, the pointed satire of the nursing home industry, and most of all, the chorus of idiosyncratic, opinionated characters who've got more life left in them than anyone quite expects." The New York Times
"A deceptively simple tale that brims with compassion and wisdom, weaving laugh-out-loud set pieces with infinitely tender observations about the human condition...Once again, Edgerton has crafted a little treasure of a novel - funny, wistful, packed with truth and humanity." Charlotte Observer
"A vivid and affecting portrait of the way many of us struggle - and, when possible, take comfort - in the real world." People Magazine
"A zany tale about old folks and those who love them. Honor and respect abide in this gentle tale of the twilight time." Southern Living
"Mr. Edgerton's ability to shine a clear, warm light on the dark things of life without becoming sugary makes a vivid backdrop for his tolerant humor and his alertness to the human genius for nonsense." The New Yorker |
