DC Everest Drama will be presenting Samuel Taylor’s enduring romantic comedy Sabrina Fair on May 6, 7, and 8, 2011 at the DC Everest Senior High School Theatre. Show times are 7:00 pm on Friday and Saturday night and 2:00 pm on Sunday afternoon. Tickets are just $5.00 for all ages and are available at the door. You can show your moral and financial support for the DC Everest Drama program and get to see a show all at the same time!
What does Eric Brandt have in common with Joseph Cotten, Humphrey Bogart and Harrison Ford? [Insert well deserved dig on Eric here] Yes, whatever you said is almost certainly true. Plus, at one time or another, all four of us have fallen in love with Sabrina Fairchild.
Sabrina Fair premiered on Broadway in 1953 with Joseph Cotten and Margaret Sullivan. It was warmly received and the following year, producer/director Billy Wilder (Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment) 
produced a film interpretation with Humphrey Bogart and William Holden, starring Audrey Hepburn in the title role. The film was a considerable departure from the stage show, so much so that playwright Taylor quit the project, forcing Wilder to hire a new screen writer in mid-production. Nevertheles, the film was a success, earning Oscar nominations for Hepburn and Wilder. And one for Taylor, too, for that matter.
In 1995, Sabrina was revisited by producer/director Syndney Pollack (Tootsie, Out of Africa, The Firm) with Julia Ormond in the title role this time, and Harrison Ford and Greg Kinnear taking the places of Bogart and Holden. This interpretation is, in many ways, equally charming to the first film, but is still a re-make of the film, not a return to the stage script. In defense of the film, though, this was the Sabrina I fell for. Of course, I went back and watched Ms. Hepburn, and she’s wonderful, but the dynamic between Ormond, Kinnear, and Ford worked better for me.
If you’ve never seen either film, DON’T!
Instead, go to DC Everest this weekend and see the stage version. This isn’t Ibsen or Chekhov. It’s a romantic comedy and you don’t need to be versed in the language or the story before you walk through the door. So go in cold and just experience the show.
On the other hand, if you have seen either or both films, go to DC Everest this weekend and see the stage version. It’s a good story and you should see the source material.
In light of the issues facing DC Everest Drama, here’s an excellent opportunity to show your support for the program. If you’ve never been to any of the three act plays, you’ve been missing out and you should go. Once you do, you’ll be hooked, and you’ll be helping to keep a quality theater program going strong.
