DATE: Tuesday, February 25, 1997            TAG: 9702250241

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

TYPE: Theater Preview 

SOURCE: BY FRANK ROBERTS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   51 lines

``TWO TRAINS RUNNING'' WILL RUN 4 NIGHTS AT ECSU LITTLE THEATRE

``Two Trains Running'' will be running four nights at The Little Theatre at Elizabeth City State University.

The University Players outing, a mix of drama and comedy, can be seen Feb. 27 and 28 and March 2 and 3.

It is worth seeing - take the word of the august critics who awarded August Wilson the 1992 New York Drama Critics Circle Award for his playwright abilities.

He is used to recognition. ``Fences'' and ``The Piano Lesson,'' were both Pulitzer Prize winners.

``Two Trains Running'' is about a restaurant owned by a man named Memphis, said Troy Lewter of Ahoskie, the 22-year-old student director. ``He is trying to sell his property for a price he wants, so he can go back home and buy some property he was forced off.''

Other characters in the play include Risa and an ex-con, Sterling.

``Will she take a chance on him? Will he try to do the right thing?'' Lewter asks. ``We don't know, but he's still leaning toward the kind of trouble that got him locked up in the first place.''

Wilson delights in asking questions, providing answers that lead to more questions. His dialogue is sharp and fascinating.

Lewter enjoys working on a Wilson product, and is still trying to figure out the two trains analogy.

``I see the restaurant as sort of a way station,'' he said.

Lewter, a senior majoring in English, has decided on show business as a career - acting, film making, writing, directing.

Last year, he co-directed the successful 1996 ECSU production, ``Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,'' and wrote and directed ``The Bench Warmers.''

Lewter is enjoying directing.

``Always assume the worst, but it's never as bad as you think it is. No stress, no hassle. Besides, I've got a great cast. We'll pull it off,'' he said.

``No Trains Running'' has garnered its share of recognition, the New York Times referring to it as ``glorious storytelling - touching and often funny.'' ILLUSTRATION: THEATER PREVIEW

WHAT: The University Players, Elizabeth City State University,

presents ``Two Trains Running.''

WHEN: Feb. 27-28, March 2-3 at 8 p.m.

WHERE: The Little Theatre, ECSU.

TICKETS: $5 for the general public, $1.50 for university faculty

and staff, $1 for ECSU students. They are available at the door. For

more information, call 335-3436.

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