Original play ‘explodes’ onto Bend stage

“I literally woke up with the idea,” said Suzan Noyes, the producer and playwright of ‘Hot Spot in Pompeii.

This is Noyes’ second original play and world premiere at Second Street Theater in Bend.

“I think it was because it was some trace thought when I was half-awake, thinking that people don’t really change,” Noyes said. “The things that drive us are the same.”

Hot Spot in Pompeii takes the audience back to 79 A.D., at the base of Mount Vesuvius in Italy. Two Italian families are attempting to monopolize the olive oil business, by way of an arranged marriage.

“Nobody in the families wants this to happen at all, except the two fathers,” Noyes said.

Throughout the play Mount Vesuvius rumbles, suggesting the impending doom of the families below.

“You see how these two sets of parents and how they interact with each other,” said Jenny Mackenzie, who plays Beautissima Robustus Maxima. “It’s a good age range. There is a bit for everyone in this show.”

The play has a cast of roughly 10 members. Noyes said the cast has continued to surprise her.

“This is community theater. It’s not professional theater,” Noyes said. “They act professionally, and they want to put on professional shows — and they do!”

More information: http://www.2ndstreettheater.com/