Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 6, 1994                   TAG: 9407060025
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-4   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: By NICOLE A. PAGE SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`WHITE CHICKS': FEMALE BONDING AT THE PINE TAVERN

This month, the Mountain Lake Players will present their rendition of the play at the Pine Tavern in Floyd.

This is the second production of Mountain Lake Players, who made their debut last fall with Ellen Byron's "Graceland."

The Pine Tavern, built in 1927 with hardwood floors and old-fashioned rafters, gives a quaint but elegant backdrop for the play. The tavern offers a large dining area with large wooden tables and windows overlooking the beautiful countryside. The rolling hills and forests of Floyd County provide the perfect setting for a dinner/theater presentation.

The play is set in Fox Hollow, a secluded corner of northern Westchester County, N.Y., and is centered on the lives of two suburban housewives and their blooming friendship.

Maude Mix is an uptight, wealthy housewife trying to find herself after her husband has an affair. Hannah Mae Bindler is a big-hearted but lonely Texan who, along with her cheating husband, moves in next door.

The play begins when Bindler forces herself and her friendship on the lonely but prideful Mix. Hilarity ensues as the two begin to develop a tenuous but honest relationship based on their shared struggles as women.

This two-act play features three talented actresses alternating between two roles.

Sandy Lacy made her acting debut last season in the Mountain Lake players' production of "Graceland." She is locally recognized in the New River Valley as a musician in several bands (most notably Fresh Water, Idlewilde and the newly formed Skeeter and the Skidmarks). This summer Grover brings her natural enthusiasm and love of performing to the stage again as Hannah Mae Bindler.

Katie Gwinn was around 10 years old when she began performing and dancing to entertain the neighborhood kids in San Jose, Calif. Gwinn studied drama in both high school and college, acting in a number of productions including "Don Pimperlin in His Garden," "The Boyfriend" and "Shenandoah." She also has done choreography and worked backstage. Gwinn is a newcomer to the Blue Ridge mountains and is living the country life full time in Floyd. She has enjoyed getting back into acting after a seven year hiatus, and will be alternately playing the roles of Hannah Mae Bindler and Maude Mix.

Wendy White has been involved in performance arts in one way or another since she was 13 years old. Her artistic career began in Central Florida where she grew up. She later earned a bachelor of fine arts in theater arts in Alabama, working professionally during the summers in roles that include Alice in "Alice in Wonderland" and Helga Ten Dorp in "The Death Trap." After taking some time off to be with her growing family, White returned to the stage in 1990 as Louise in "Murder on the Nile." She has also directed and produced, and last summer White added playwright to her list of talents when she was awarded a scholarship to the Shenandoah Playwrights Retreat in Staunton for her first full-length play, "The Sweet By 'n By," based on the life of Orlena Puckett, a Patrick County midwife. A staged reading of the play was presented in Staunton and was included in an evening of scenes at the Kennedy Center. White will return to the retreat this year with a new work, "Gone For a Soldier."

"A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking" will be at the Pine Tavern every Wednesday until July 13. Tickets for the play are $6; dinner/theater cost is meal price plus $5.