Cathy Dobson
On a rehearsal break from her starring role in Exit Laughing, Mary Ann Hucker talks about why she loves her character.
“The director (Willi Beckers-Locke) asked me to read for the play and the more I read the script, the more I realized that Connie Harland is me,” she explained.
Hucker plays one of three southern women from Birmingham who share a close friendship built on 30 years of weekly bridge nights.
Exit Laughing takes place the day Mary, the friend who completed the foursome, is cremated.
The women return to Connie’s house with Mary’s ashes, ‘borrowed’ in an urn from the funeral home for one last card game.
What follows promises to be a funny, poignant, sometimes ridiculous evening that involves police, a stripper and a lesson in seizing the day.
“What I like about Exit Laughing is you realize what’s important, that we all should be living for the moment because life can change on a dime,” said Hucker.
She’s lost a number of people near to her and said she relates closely to Connie who loves her friends deeply despite their differences.
“I tend to be the mediator, just like Connie. And I’m a mother too, trying to juggle all the balls at the same time.”
Hucker was one of nine kids growing up and loved performing for her relatives during big family reunions.
She describes a time much later when she performed a hockey skit for her elderly parents when they were both in the hospital.
“I put on the hockey shirts and hats and used the big Montreal accent, and I could see the joy. My dad had tears in his eyes and my mom was laughing.
“I’ve been involved in theatre all my life because it gives me such a good feeling,” she said. “And, as I get older, I’m challenging myself with bigger roles.”
About six years ago, Hucker, a youthful 60-something, joined Theatre Sarnia and helped backstage with the youth group. Her first stage role in Theatre Sarnia’s production of Calendar Girls won her a supporting actress award.
Exit Laughing by U.S. playwright Paul Elliott was first performed in 2013 by a community theatre group in Springfield, Missouri.
It broke that theatre’s 50-year record for ticket sales and became the most popular non-musical in Springfield Little Theatre’s 100-year-old history.
IF YOU GO:
WHAT: Theatre Sarnia’s Exit Laughing. Note, there is mature content.
WHEN: April 13, 14, 18 – 21 @ 7:30 p.m. Matinee April 15 @ 2 p.m.
WHERE: Imperial Theatre
TICKETS: $25 adults. Senior and young adult discounts. Call 519-344-7469 or online at imperialtheatre.net.
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