Theatre to Present “The Boys Next Door”, Studio Theatre

 (L to R) - Back Row: CJ Craddock, Dylan Deaton, Joey Hall, Zachary Barlow

Middle Row: Linda Rivas, Sunny Sicko, Kelsey Bass; 
Front Row: TJ Rushing, Trenton Wall, Mariah Fulbright, John Shaw

Beginning on February 21, the Panola College Theatre will present Tom Griffin’s “The Boys Next Door.” Commenting on the performance, drama professor, Clay Grizzle said, “The play is the story of four mentally handicapped men who live under the supervision of an earnest, but increasingly ‘burned out’ social worker named Jack. Norman, who works in a doughnut shop and is unable to resist the lure of the sweet pastries, takes great pride in the huge bundle of keys that dangles from his waist; Lucien P. Smith has the mind of a five-year-old but imagines that he is able to read and comprehend the weighty books he lugs about; Arnold, the ringleader of the group, is a hyperactive, compulsive chatterer, who suffers from deep-seated insecurities and a persecution complex; while Barry, a brilliant schizophrenic who is devastated by the unfeeling rejection of his brutal father, fantasizes that he is a golf pro. Mingled with scenes from the daily lives of these four, are "little things" that sometimes become momentous (and often very funny). There are moments of great poignancy when, with touching effectiveness, the audience is reminded that the handicapped, like the rest of us, want only to love and laugh and find some meaning and purpose in the brief time that they are allotted on this earth.”

The cast includes a very talented group of young actors: CJ Craddock and TJ Rushing from Mt. Enterprise, Joey Hall and Zachary Barlow from Carthage, Trenton Wall from Uncertain, Kelsey Bass and John Shaw from Timpson, Sunni Sicko and Mariah Fulbright from Center, Linda Rivas from Conroe, and Dylan Deaton from Marshall.