Central Alberta Theatre’s latest production, Wrong Turn at Lungfish, is set to hit the stage Feb. 19th.

Penned by Garry Marshall and Lowell Ganz, the show runs through March 7th in the Nickle Studio at CAT studios, adjacent to the Memorial Centre.

Curtain is 7:30 p.m.

Director Craig Scott describes the play as witty but interwoven with dramatic elements and a touch of poignancy as well.

The story follows an elderly, rather bitter college professor by the name of Peter and a streetwise young woman who reads to him in a New York City hospital. The unlikely pairing presents a clash of personalities but as the play unfolds, the duo learn plenty about each other and themselves.

“They start off with a rocky relationship – in fact he’s asked for a different reader because he doesn’t like her,” explains Scott, a CAT veteran and talented actor in his own right. This production marks his first time directing a major play – he directed two plays in last year’s annual one-act festival.

“She puts up with him because she’s starting to make a connection with him – she likes that fact that he’s smart and she’s never met a college dean before. So she starts to learn from him, and they end up becoming friends over the course of the play. It’s an evolution. And that’s why it’s titled Wrong Turn at Lungfish, because it’s about evolution.

“She gets into a speech about how she used to work in a natural history museum, and that humans have evolved. She thinks they are going to evolve into something else – angels, she thinks.

“He, on the other hand thinks mankind took a wrong turn at ‘lungfish’.”

Naturally then, the play brings up questions of life, death, the possibility of an afterlife, spirituality – you name it.

“She’s actually symbolic of the human heart and soul – she believes in religion, and in love. I think of him more as the cool, calculating brain.

“We ask a bunch of questions as humans on a regular basis, and I think what happens is the two of them realize one doesn’t really function without the other.

“I think that’s part of the ‘evolution’ as well. That’s what I like about the play.”

Robbin Edgar plays the part of Peter with Tara Rorke is starring as Anita.

Rounding out the cast are Travis Johnson as Anita’s boyfriend Dominic and Anya Paulsen as the nurse.

“I hope the audience starts asking those questions that the characters are asking, and I also hope that they go through a roller coaster of emotions, because that’s what happens in real life.

“I hope people feel a wide range of emotions. And I hope they ask the questions the characters ask – is there a God or isn’t there? Is there an afterlife? Do we rule our lives with our hearts or our heads? They’re all really good questions. They debate those questions in the play – it’s great to see. Should we accept life for what it is, or can we change our own destiny and fate? Are we in control of that ourselves?

“I think that if the audience comes away asking those questions, then life is good.”

Tickets are available at the Black Knight Inn by calling 403-755-6626 or checking out www.blackknightinn.ca.

editor@reddeerexpress.com