'Eleemosynary' on tour before competition By Staff Reports 3/21/2005 The award-winning show returns to Heller on April 14-16 Heller Theater's acclaimed production of "Eleemosynary," which won last year's Oklahoma Community Theater Association festival as best play, is on tour before returning to Heller next month.

Rita Boyle performs in Heller Theater’s “Eleemosynary,” which is making appearances in five Oklahoma cities. A. CUERVO / Tulsa World

The statewide theater group received funding from the Sarkeys Foundation and from The Kirkpatrick Family Fund to take the production to five Oklahoma cities. The play has already been staged in Elk City and Chickasha in recent weeks.

"Eleemosynary" will play in McAlester on Saturday, in Miami on April 2 and in Perry on April 3. More information about the tour is available by calling Heller at 746-5065. OCTA asked Heller artistic director Julie Tattershall about touring 20 shows, but she and her three standout actresses couldn't meet that demanding schedule.

"It's really remarkable, the reception we've received for this play. I think it's the understanding of the script, the depth to which we've been able to pull things out of it, and it's the chemistry between these women," she said. "There's true love and understanding of the issues in the play, and that's what makes this play work."

Lee Blessing's play is a remarkable tapestry of life woven between three generations of exceptional women who find it difficult to make emotional connections. Tattershall directs Rita Boyle, Karen Evans and Annie Ellicott in last year's most moving drama, described in our review as "three amazing women . . . alone on a stage with only three chairs, a box and their belief in one another. Stunning."

The play returns to Heller Theater for three performances April 14-16 before representing the state's community theater group in a regional competition the following weekend against community theaters from several states.