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Willie & Esther

Presented by Hattiloo Theatre at Hattiloo Theatre

January 7-January 24, 2010

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Willie and Esther are a longtime couple with long-term troubles. When it seems their luck is about to run out they hatch a plan, because "Don't nothing beat a failure but a try." Hilarious, touching, and real as a bad day, this play's truth is that sometimes the only way to overcome your troubles is to laugh at them with someone you love.

 

• At-a-
  Glance

  • Venue Info

    Hattiloo Theatre

    656 Marshall
    Memphis, TN 38103-3218

    Full map and directions

  • Admission Info

    Tickets: $22.00 Recession Night January 14th - $12.00

    Info Phone: 901.525.0009

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  • Dates & Times

    Dates:
    January 7-January 24, 2010

    Times:
    Thursdays 7:30 pm
    Fridays & Saturdays 8:00 pm
    Sundays 3:00 pm

  • Accessibility Info

    Currently, no accessibility information is available for this event.

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  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: Willie & Esther
      "Review by ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver Bo List"
      Comment posted by: Bo List - ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver from Memphis, TN, Jan 16, 2010
      

      There is almost no plot in Hattiloo Theatre's Willie and Esther. An absurd couple schemes to rob a bank. They don't. Later, they scheme again to steal from a skuzzy slumlord and make off with a... Expand

      There is almost no plot in Hattiloo Theatre's Willie and Esther. An absurd couple schemes to rob a bank. They don't. Later, they scheme again to steal from a skuzzy slumlord and make off with a toaster oven. Finis! Never mind that there's hardly any narrative. The title characters are storied enough themselves. If these two oddballs actually accomplished anything, their predicament would diminish in interest. Living just above poverty and imbued, seemingly, with neither intellect nor talent, Willie and Esther represent the many untold souls who don?t often end up the subject of plays. They'd like to live in a nicer home. They'd like to drive instead of ride the bus. They want to live, feel well, and stay together. Their aims are modest by dramatic standards but what could be more important? Willie (J.S. Tate) works in the back of a grocery, while Esther (Precious J. Morris) seems to scrape by as a beautician. They're not subtle people; they seem to say everything they think, and are prone to egregious malapropisms: since Willie handles produce all day, Esther declares him a "producer" while, at some point, "something is rotten in the state of Denver." Hence, Willie and Esther is essentially a two-person comedy riff on middle-aged relationships. The title characters are basically the kind of crazies you try to avoid on the street but these two have, essentially, the same things in common as do all longtime couples: affection, secrets, shared goals, resentments and enduring attraction. James Graham Bronson's funny, touching script is as simple as his subjects, though his intended tone is hard to grasp in a production in which the two leads seem encouraged to bicker and cajole at full volume, full-speed ahead, at all times. No matter; their chemistry is marvelously winning and both performers embrace their work fearlessly. Morris hops emotions faster than a Whack-A-Mole game, and employs every tactic in the book to get a proper marriage proposal out of Esther?s fella. Tate, meanwhile, has either chosen or been instructed to give Willie a series of unmentioned facial twitches that, if not exhausting him, certainly distracts the audience from his work, otherwise strong conveying an odd but admirable pride in a man who seems to have little else. But they have each other, and that's a lot. Collapse

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    Currently, additional images/videos have not been submitted for this event.

• Member
  Reviews

  • Member Reviews

    Add review/comment

    • Event Name: Willie & Esther
      "Review by ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver Bo List"
      Comment posted by: Bo List - ArtsMemphis Rants & Raver from Memphis, TN, Jan 16, 2010
      

      There is almost no plot in Hattiloo Theatre's Willie and Esther. An absurd couple schemes to rob a bank. They don't. Later, they scheme again to steal from a skuzzy slumlord and make off with a... Expand

      There is almost no plot in Hattiloo Theatre's Willie and Esther. An absurd couple schemes to rob a bank. They don't. Later, they scheme again to steal from a skuzzy slumlord and make off with a toaster oven. Finis! Never mind that there's hardly any narrative. The title characters are storied enough themselves. If these two oddballs actually accomplished anything, their predicament would diminish in interest. Living just above poverty and imbued, seemingly, with neither intellect nor talent, Willie and Esther represent the many untold souls who don?t often end up the subject of plays. They'd like to live in a nicer home. They'd like to drive instead of ride the bus. They want to live, feel well, and stay together. Their aims are modest by dramatic standards but what could be more important? Willie (J.S. Tate) works in the back of a grocery, while Esther (Precious J. Morris) seems to scrape by as a beautician. They're not subtle people; they seem to say everything they think, and are prone to egregious malapropisms: since Willie handles produce all day, Esther declares him a "producer" while, at some point, "something is rotten in the state of Denver." Hence, Willie and Esther is essentially a two-person comedy riff on middle-aged relationships. The title characters are basically the kind of crazies you try to avoid on the street but these two have, essentially, the same things in common as do all longtime couples: affection, secrets, shared goals, resentments and enduring attraction. James Graham Bronson's funny, touching script is as simple as his subjects, though his intended tone is hard to grasp in a production in which the two leads seem encouraged to bicker and cajole at full volume, full-speed ahead, at all times. No matter; their chemistry is marvelously winning and both performers embrace their work fearlessly. Morris hops emotions faster than a Whack-A-Mole game, and employs every tactic in the book to get a proper marriage proposal out of Esther?s fella. Tate, meanwhile, has either chosen or been instructed to give Willie a series of unmentioned facial twitches that, if not exhausting him, certainly distracts the audience from his work, otherwise strong conveying an odd but admirable pride in a man who seems to have little else. But they have each other, and that's a lot. Collapse

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