The Giver Theatre Production

SPRINGHOUSE THEATRE COMPANY CLOSES SEASON WITH YOUNG ADULT FAVORITE, ‘THE GIVER’

The only thing certain about the future is that it is uncertain. Science fiction writers from H.G. Wells and Aldose Huxley to George Orwell and Arthur C. Clark have given us alternately magnificent and sparkling to dull and depressing visions of what the future of mankind might hold. Newbury Award winning author Lois Lowry envisions a dystopian/utopian future where equality reigns in the form of the Sameness in her 1993 young adult novel, The Giver. Springhouse Theatre Company closes its 2014-2015 season with Eric Coble’s challenging stage adaption of this beloved young adult classic. The production opens April 10 and runs for three weekends at Rutherford County’s Favorite Live Theatre Company.

In Lowry’s version of the future, pain, prejudice and war are relics of the past. Climate control and medical advances have eliminated famine and pestilence.  Differences between people have been reduced to the bare essentials. The Elders make all the important decisions for everyone, including who you will marry, assign the two allotted children to that ‘family unit,’ what job you will have, and even what your name is. The community is free from strife, but the trade-off is that life in this brave new world is bland, devoid of color, emotional connection, the power to choose and perhaps most importantly, the memory of the past.

Only one person is entrusted to carry the weight of the memories of all that has gone on before – the Receiver of Memory. But the Receiver is old, and a new Receiver must be chosen to take his place. Jonas, a young man with the unique ability to ‘see beyond,’ is selected for this honor. During his training as the new Receiver of Memory, Jonas discovers beauty, color, emotions. He soon begins to question whether the safe, secure life his community offers is worth the sacrifice of free will.

Directed by Springhouse Theatre Company veteran Paula K. Parker, The Giver features Jacob Myhre in the pivotal role of Jonas, and professional actor Mike Parker (ABC’s “Nashville,” “A Season of Miracles”) in the title role. The Giver is the final offering of the Middle Tennessee-based theatre company’s 2014-2015 season. The show runs for three weekends – April 10-11, 17-18 and 24-26. Show times are 7:30 pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and 3:30 pm on the final Sunday matinee. For the comfort of all of our patrons, children under the age of 4 years are not admitted into the theatre.