The Old Woman in the Basement: A Play

11 Nov 2012

Performances at NC STAGE, 15 Stage Lane, Asheville

www.ncstage.org for tickets / info

by Gwenda Ledbetter
November 2 - 11, 2012

A compelling performance from one of WNC's premiere storytellers.

For over 50 years, LedBetter has entertained audiences across America, starting with her role as the StoryLady at the Pack Library and on the Mr. Bill Show which aired on WLOS-TV. She went on to star in several Asheville Community Theatre musical productions including South Pacific and Camelot.

At age 82, Gwenda has written her second solo work Old Woman in the Basement. Her personal life unfolds in the everyman experience of the losses that come with aging – a process anyone may face at any time. Come see how one woman struggles with acceptance enabling her to reinvest in the world.

Gwenda writes: "In the first scene of my play The Old Woman in the Basement, Mariah says, "Books have answers to all the questions in the world.Trouble is there are too many questions." A wise friend said, "The questions stay the same. It's the answers that change". I looked for answers in 2006, writing and performing the one woman play, Friday's Father about my father's drinking.

In 2009, My husband, John went into a dementia unit with Alzheimer's, and again looking for answers I wrote about 82 year old Mariah who is angry at the loss of power that comes with aging. She tells the garbageman the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess worshiped eons ago, who descended to the Great Below, losing even her life. Mariah asks, "How can you get all that back?" The questions of life and death are best contemplated in community with tears, and laughter."

The Old Woman In The Basement from David Novak on Vimeo.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for full time students with a valid I.D.

Note performance times have changed for this play: Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2:30pm.

THE OLD WOMAN IN THE BASEMENT is part of the Catalyst Series and is included in SUPER FlexPass subscription packages.

Copyright © 2012 North Carolina Stage Company