'Yard Sale - A musical about junk'
By Laurie Colton Venice Theatre
Originally published by yoursun.com

Venice Theatre’s Stage 2 Series is delighted to present the area premiere of “Yard Sale: A Musical About Junk” by Molly Bass and Jeff Hartman.

“Yard Sale” is a story about a yard sale, a mermaid and the lives of the people around the sale, both sellers and buyers. Karissa (played by Thayer Greenberg returning to Venice Theatre after a 10-year hiatus) is getting rid of some excess baggage — including the “junk” left behind by her ex-boyfriend, Dwight (Jack Kaiser). Things get complicated when he shows up to the sale with his new girlfriend, Crystal, played by Brittany Roa. A trio of veteran pickers (Thomas Rhoor, Lisa Taylor and Laurie Colton) add to the fun.

Murray Chase, Venice Theatre’s producing executive director, discovered the quirky, offbeat musical at a recent American Association of Community Theatre festival. He was enamored enough with the story and music to add it to Venice Theatre’s 70th Anniversary Season. He wasn’t as excited with the title — Junk — and asked the creators to add “Yard Sale” to the name, believing it would help with sales. His request seems to have worked. At the time of this writing, 90% of the tickets are sold. Most available seats are for later in the month-long run. Even without the words “yard sale,” the original 2015 production at Hickory Theatre in North Carolina premiered with a sold-out run.

According to Molly Bass in the online article Crafting Junk, “The spark for ‘Junk’ came from a passage in the book, ‘The Mermaid Chair,’ by Sue Monk Kidd … She describes a painting of a mermaid diving to the bottom of the ocean with different objects streaming off of her — a spatula, refrigerator magnets, apple peels, etc. So my mind jumped to — ’what if a mermaid had a yard sale?’ That description also led me to think about cleansing, baptism, renewal. Then ‘Karissa,’ the main character of ‘Junk,’ was born.”

Bass and her co-creator Jeff Hartman will be in Venice to see their show in its first production by another theatre.

Amanda Heisey, seen on stage at Venice Theatre in roles such as Maggie in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and Magenta in “The Rocky Horror Show,” takes a seat in the director’s chair to helm a cast featuring Greenberg in the lead role. Lisa Taylor, Jack Kaiser, Kenneth Glesge, Brittany Roa, Laurie Colton, Thomas Rhoor and Sabiné Timol round out the rest of the ensemble.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays through Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays. Adult tickets are $34, student tickets are $15 to $20, with all prices subject to change. Seating in The Pinkerton Theatre is general admission.

'Yard Sale: A Musical About Junk'
When: Through March 8

Where: The Pinkerton Theatre at the Venice Theatre, 140 Tampa Ave., Venice

Information: 941-488-1115 or www.venicetheatre.org