2008 Woodie Awards
Blankenship, Parker light up the stage
Powerful duo brings talent of all-star cast in 'Last Train'
Jimmy Faseler
Issue date: 2/16/07 Section: News
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"Last Train to Nibroc," a love story between Raleigh and May, is quite possibly one of the greatest love stories I have ever seen on stage. "Romeo and Juliet" might be the most famous, but considering only a few in modern America can actually understand what is going on, and Shakespeare's play ends on a down note, I am still able to believe that "Last Train" is one of the best love stories put on the stage.
"Last Train" takes place in the 1940's, just before America enters World War II. Raleigh, a soldier who has just been discharged for having "the fits" (which will be later diagnosed as epilepsy), is on a train back home to Kentucky from California. He meets a beautiful young woman named May while on the train. May is also returning to Kentucky (not far from where Raleigh is destined) from California where she was greatly disappointed after having visited her fiancé, now ex-fiancé, who is also in the military.
After discovering some very interesting information about certain influential cargo on the train, Raleigh is inspired to continue to ride the train to New York in order to pursue a career in writing. But, after meeting May and discovering the romantic potential in their relationship, he decides to go ahead with his original destination and get off the train with May and go home to Kentucky.
The plot and the relationship get much more in depth and so much more juicy, and would be not so fun to watch if I told you the rest.
Raleigh and May are the only two characters in the play, which means they are always on stage and every other line is the actor / actress' responsibility, therefore each role is very demanding for the two performers. After seeing sophomores Bryce Blankenship and Meg Parker, I am positive no one in the greater Springfield area could have done a better job. Their interpretation of their characters is fantastic and consistent, their line delivery is dead on and the chemistry between the two is amazing.
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