University of Memphis talent and philosophy will take center stage this weekend as the award-winning play, "Blue/Orange," opens at the Playhouse on the Square's TheatreWorks.
And even though his job lies primarily behind the scenes, Bob Hetherington, chair of The U of M theatre department, will keep things running smoothly as the play's director.
Set in Great Britain, the play revolves around three characters - two psychiatrists and their patient.
"Senior and junior psychiatrists are locked in a nasty debate about a black man who has been in the psych ward for 28 days," Hetherington said. "The junior psychiatrist thinks he is schizophrenic and the senior one thinks he's delusional but not dangerous and should be let out. The debate ends up being in part about race."
The name of the play is taken from the bowl of oranges that sit on the table and the patient claims they are blue when asked.
In Great Britain, black men are five to six times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, according to Hetherington.
By the end of the play, the audience is sure to be confused about who to side with, or at least that is what Hetherington said he hopes to happen.
"Issues of the play are somewhat unresolved by the end because our sympathies keep changing in play," he said. "It is difficult to know whose side you're supposed to be on."
Hetherington's career at The U of M began eight years ago and he recently went on a professional development leave where he was the associate director for a musical at the Shaw Festival in Canada.
Future projects include a musical on campus called "Parade" set for February. He will also direct "Inherit the Wind" at Playhouse on the Square, which is about the Scopes trial. And he will also direct "Urine Town" at the Theatre of Memphis next April.
Out of all the plays Hetherington has directed, he said he cannot settle on just one as his favorite.
"Plays are like children, you don't have favorites," he said. "But you tend to favor the one you're working on at the moment."
One character Hetherington is directing is U of M alum Jeff Godsey, who plays Bruce, the junior psychiatrist.
Godsey received both his bachelor's and master's from The U of M in theatre and is currently working in the biology department.
"I play a young psychiatrist in his first year in a psychiatric facility," Godsey said. "He is a little uptight, but fiercely committed to his work and ideals, which seem a little old-fashioned to his supervisor. He often speaks before he thinks, giving vent to tantrums and plunging himself into difficult situations, but his heart is most assuredly in the right place."
To describe this play, Godsey said it doesn't fit a certain genre, instead it is more of an issue play, which deals more with issues and ideas than characters.
"We become vehicles for the ideas, but we have to retain our humanity so that the audience will remain interested in us as characters.
Otherwise, they won't listen for the ideas."
"Blue/Orange" opens tomorrow and will run until July 31. The Pay What You Can Performance is July 14. For more information, call the Playhouse on the Square at 726-4656.
