“Oscar for Oscar’s sake” World premiere with River Company.
River Company proudly presents “Oscar for Oscar’s sake” a new work in progress premiering off off off off Broadway at Skidompha Public Library's Porter Hall on Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 23 at 2 p.m. The 90 minute piece stars Los Angeles actor and Lincoln Academy alumnus Michael Hovance (Aka- kid from home does good out west).
Back before the earth cooled, somewhere around 1988, Michael Hovance went to see a production of “Bye Bye Birdie” at Lincoln Academy’s Old Gym. The building that now houses Heartwood Regional Theater was then a combination gym and cafeteria by day and theater and concert hall by night.
“Bye Bye Birdie” featured Michael’s classmates and neighbors, including one nutty broad (me) who thew herself out with the trash by standing in a garbage can on the stage. Michael watched as classmates and community members performed under the Direction of Lincoln Academy English teacher Nick Azzaretti. As he watched he was bitten. “I want to do that,” he said to himself, and he did just that.
Michael Hovance went on to study theater and history at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, and spent his junior year at the British American Drama Academy in London. It was during this time studying in London that Hovance's love of Wilde’s plays emerged. More than once it was remarked that he bore a passing resemblance to Wilde.
His credentials are impressive but more impressive is his dedication to his craft and his enduring joy in bring Wilde to blazing life. Michael has starred in over 35 plays and musicals in New York and Los Angeles. His roles have included Hamlet, Sweeney Todd, Charles Condomine in “Blithe Spirit,” Lord Goring in “An Ideal Husband,” and Jack in Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” both onstage and online with River Company. Side note: when Michael auditioned for “An Ideal Husband,” the play’s producer told the director, “Oscar Wilde has just walked into the room.” Becoming Wilde's characters onstage has led Michael deep into the playwright's own story. In 1882, as Wilde lectured his way across the United States, to promote the "art for art's sake" movement, he fully manifested the indelible persona and unique comedic perspective that pervades his greatest works.
The production features Wilde’s words and the talents of this remarkable man, Michael Hovance, with guest spots by Kim Fletcher Smith and Nick Azzaretti as some of Wilde’s characters.
This delightful romp returns Michael to collaborate with his former teacher Nick Azzaretti, bringing the actor back full circle to share his talents with his hometown audience. Join your neighbors and friends to welcome Michael home and celebrate Oscar Wilde.
Michael Hovance explores “Oscar for Oscar's sake” at Skidompha Public Library's Porter Hall on Friday, July 21 and Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, July 23 at 2 p.m. All shows are “Pay What You Can” admission. Skidompha is at 184 Main St., Damariscotta.
For more information, call 207-449-2943.
To see Michael and his River Company cohorts in action, please enjoy: The Importance of Being Earnest-
During Covid, the company did many “zoom” productions, but Earnest brought a new level of production and included performers from across the country.
“Sweeny Todd “ starring Michael Hovance and Tracy Blackwell.
Hamlet
Nick Azzaretti and Michael Hovance planning wilde things.
About this blog:
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What's the Buzz? About the Author
Eleanor Cade Busby: Unpublished, Unfiltered, and Unrepentant
Eleanor Cade Busby is an unpublished award-winning writer, photographer, blogger, and chronic user of the Oxford comma. She simply adores writing about herself in the third person, and therefore considers this bio a personal highlight of her literary career.
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Writing from Midcoast Maine, where the air is salty, the coffee is strong, and the opinions come with footnotes.
A preacher’s kid who made it her mission to lovingly obliterate every single stereotype about “the minister’s daughter,” Busby grew up all over New England collecting stories, theater programs, and at least three kinds of student loan debt. She attended Goddard College, the Rhode Island Conservatory of Music, and the School of Life—majoring in everything she could wedge into her skull without a crowbar.
She has had her own office (with an actual door!) and a red stapler that was not to be touched, thank you very much. She has worked in social services for decades, won both national and local awards, and was recently named a co-recipient of the PEN/Toni and James C. Goodale Freedom of Expression Courage Award—along with one million of her closest friends—for being loud in the best way possible.
Busby has directed more plays than she can count, acted in more than she should probably admit, and written a few too—including some that were performed on purpose. She’s done everything in theater except hang the lights, because she has a strict “no ladders” clause in her personal safety policy.
Her work has appeared in publications ranging from earnest local weeklies to CRACKED magazine, which pretty much sums up her range. She believes if it isn’t funny or relevant, it probably belongs in a compost heap, not her blog.
Eleanor lives in Midcoast Maine with a cat who believes in early-morning blood sacrifice (hers), and she writes "What's the Buzz?" to chronicle what’s happening, what might be happening, and what absolutely should be happening, according to her and no one else.
Suggestions for topics and comments are always welcome at eleanorcadebusby@hotmail.com
