To better understand and appreciate the play, Return of an Angel, we felt it would be helpful if one could recognize and associate with the characters in the story. On the left, we offer photos of the major real-life characters together with a brief comment for each. The setting of the play is the 1930's and the photos reflect the personal appearances, surroundings, and attire of that era. On the right are photos of the actors who will breathe new life into the real characters and help you re-live the events of that historic period.
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| "By day, I would write in large ledgers that I had bought for that purpose. At night, I would lie in bed and fold my hands behind my head and think of what I had done that day. I would hear the solid leather footfall of the London Bobby as he came by my window and remember that I was born in North Carolina and wonder why in the hell I was now in London lying in a darkened bed and thinking about the words I had that day put down on paper...and that is the way I started my book." ..........Thomas Wolfe, author, Look Homeward, Angel. |
"Tom received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in performance from Stephen F. Austin State University and his Masters of Fine Arts in performance from the University of South Carolina. As a member of the Temple staff, Tom serves as Director of Education, Sound Designer, Web Master and can be seen performing on the Temple Theatre Stage in Sanford, NC. Some of Tom's Temple credits include Peter in Prelude To A Kiss, Starbuck in The Rainmaker, The Creature in Temple's original production of Frankenstein, A Modern Prometheus and Mr. Van Dan in The Diary of Anne Frank and most recently Valene In The Lonesome West which performed at the Stoneleaf Theatre Festival in Asheville, NC." ..........Temple Theatre, Sanford, NC. |
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| "I began to think about taking the book away from Tom. Under ordinary circumstances this would be unthinkable. I knew that this breach between the duties of writer and editor was not without consequences. It would leave a wound." ..........Max Perkins, editor, Scribner's Sons. |
"Charles Harris Bell III, Actor * Director * Theatre Consultant.
Education: B.S. - Management/Communication Arts. University of Dayton, Ohio, 1969 ; M.A. - Directing/Oral Interpretation. Bowling Green State University, 1971; Ph.D - Directing/Theatre Arts. Bowling Green State University, 1978. As an Actor: The Act Company, Carolina Theatre, Greensboro, NC, 1976; [AEA] Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Atlanta, Georgia. 1989-1990; Mount Sequoyah New Play Retreat, Fayetteville, Arkansas, 1992-1994; [AEA] Original Cast of UTAH! St. George, Utah, 1995. As an Actor/Director: Huron Playhouse, 1971-1973; University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 1975-1983; Gaslight Dinner Theatre, 1977; Barn Dinner Theatre, 1978; Parkway Playhouse, 1979-1983; Western Illinois University, 1986-2003 [Emeritus]. Academia: Teaching Assistant in Theatre, Bowling Green State University, 1971-1972; Teaching Fellow in Theatre, Bowling Green State University. 1972-1975; Instructor, Director of Public Relations, UNC-Greensboro. 1975-1977; Assistant Professor, Director of Parkway Playhouse, UNC-Greensboro. 1980-1984; Professor of Theatre, Head of Acting Program, Western Illinois University. 1986-Emeritus. [reviews and portfolio of 60+ productions available upon request]. Contact webmaster at angelplay2007@aol.com for further information. " ..........Charles H. Bell III. |
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| "Did he write about me? George! Did he write about me? I haven't done anything. I'm an honorable woman. What did he say about me? I don't think people will read it. Do you?" ..........Mabel Wolfe Wheaton, Thomas Wolfe's Sister. |
"Maggie Marshall has acted in theatrical productions from Broadway (Brian Friel's Wonderful Tennessee) to Dublin, Ireland (Caryl Churchill's Serious Money) to Los Angeles and New York (Loot, To Grandmother's House We Go, Ourselves Alone, and Ad Wars.), as well as regional theatres throughout the U.S. (Pasadena Playhouse, San Diego's Old Globe Theatre, Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Florida's Caldwell Theatre Company and Sacramento Repertory Theatre). Maggie has won a Dramalogue Award for her performance in Loot in Los Angeles and a South Florida Critics Association Carbonell Award as Mary Haines in The Women. Film and TV credits include The Member of the Wedding, In the Line of Duty,and Ned & Stacey. . She is also an award-winning television writer, having written for numerous one-hour drama series. A recent transplant from Los Angeles, she is very happy to be living in West Asheville with her husband, Stephen, and dog, Yuri." ..........Maggie Marshall. |
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| "Tom said that everyone in New York thought that we were good people - strong people. And that if peeople didn't know that then it was because he had failed as a writer. He said that he was going to write another book and that we would like it better." ..........Julia Wolfe, Thomas Wolfe's mother. |
"Carla Pridgen was delighted to be cast as Julia Wolfe in Return of an Angel, having played Elisa Gant in ACT's production of Look Homeward, Angel for the Thomas Wolfe Centennial Celebration seven years ago. Other featured roles include Sissy Hicky in Sordid Lives, The Wicked Witch of the West, Cleopatra Nunemaker in Backyard Fruit, and Ima Perry in The Immigrant. Locally, Carla has also been seen in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Woman In Black, Walking Across Egypt, and California Suite. Over the past year Carla has turned her interests to writing and is working on a first novel. Of her home she writes: "Asheville is not the place of my birth, nor among the many locales of childhood and youth. I did here pause adult-like once to pray along life's snaking way, returned and landed quietly wintered.. a late welcome home. This is home."
..........Carla Pridgen. |
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| "Now I'm not telling anything that folks don't already know. Tom was a Mama's boy. He was always a big one for his age. Tall, you know, but Mama nursed him till he was three years old. Hell he had a full set of teeth by that time." ..........Fred Wolfe, Thomas Wolfe's brother. |
"Stephen N. Moore's theatre credits include the Broach Theatre in Additional Particulars, Rounding Third, and Elephant Sighs (Stoneleaf Theatre Festival entry), all three of which were directed by Michael Lilly. Performed at the Temple Theatre (Sanford, NC) were Prelude to a Kiss, Of Mice and Men, and The Rainmaker, all of those performing with Tom Dalton. Other performances included; On Golden Pond on the Triad Stage; Macbeth at the Burning Coal Theatre; Driving Miss Daisy and Little Shop of Horrors at the Barn Dinner Theatre; A Christmas Carol at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival; and, Fiddler on the Roof and A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline at Cornwell's Dinner Theatre in Marshall, MI. On camera appearances include, among others, an episode of Dawson's Creek. " ..........Stephen N. Moore. |
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| "The things he said about my husband were so cruel. Of course my loyalties were with my husband. I wrote, but it was long years before we ever spoke." ..........Margaret Roberts, Thomas Wolfe's teacher. |
"Frannie Oates/Fran is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro in Literature/Theater and a native of Asheville. She is a musician-by-ear, a performance artist, a writer and a bard who has gone on to study Native American flute, and traditional music in Scotland, Ireland, and Southern Appalachia. Also studied songwriting, storytelling, and acting (in her "youth") with The Royal Shakespeare Co. of London, with many, many mentors and teachers (two legged and four) along the way. Her theater credits include: Joy, Shadowlands; Babe, Crimes of the Heart; Mame Dennis, Mame; Rizzo, Grease; Nancy, Oliver; and Laurey, Oklahoma. Participated in Storytelling Festivals in Tennessee (National), Kentucky (Corn Island), Asheville, Charlotte, and Washington, DC. Taught at the following facilities: The Outdoor Academy, National Wildlife Federation, Turtle Island Wilderness Preserve, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, Unity Treatment Center, Boys and Girls Club of Cherokee, WNC Nature Center, ACDS, and the Tanglewood Children's Theatre. Recordings: Into the Dawn (cassette),Soul Root Home (CD). (Currently Frannie's working on a compilation of 'love songs-and-others for the seasoned heart'.)" ..........Frances Adams Oates |
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| "It's a good book. It may even be a great book. It's raw. He has laid the town bare. Tom told everything about everybody he knew - and Tom knew everybody." ..........George McCoy, Asheville Citizen editor. |
"Randy McCracken returns to the stage for his third production of the life and works of Thomas Wolfe. Other acting work in Asheville has included productions at ACT and the YMI Community Center. Randy and his wife live and work in Asheville." ..........Randy McCracken. |
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| "The book is a genius' combination of reality, which will not shrink from even the most sordid details of everyday life, and of a child-like expression of the most delightful fantasy. Both realism and thought are clothed in a vibrant language which pulses with the joy which life's ordinary happenings bring to the author." ..........Lola Love, reporter, Asheville Citizen. |
"Tiffany has been in numerous theatre productions throughout Louisiana, California, and Germany. Some of her favorite productions include Cyrano De Bergerac, The Diary of Anne Frank, On the Verge, and Les Belle Soeurs. She was a member of the award winning West Coast Ensemble in Los Angeles as well as the acclaimed Groundlings. Along with performing, writing, and producing with multiple Sketch Comedy groups, she was also a long time member of the ground breaking independent film group, Filmmakers Alliance." ..........Tiffany Cade |
"Clara Wilson was one of the ladies in the Asheville book club to which Mabel belonged. She helped Mabel face the other ladies of her book club, understanding that Tom's book was going to be well received outside his own town. She was sure that people would be reading it for its literary value. While Clara is a fictional character, she represents those in Asheville who have some understanding of what Thomas Wolfe was trying to do.".........Sandy Mason, Playwright |  |
| "Let's face it, it isn't all that often that a whole town gets written about in one little old book." ..........Clara Wilson, book club member. |
"Diana LaSpada has appeared Off-Off Broadway in productions of Tennessee Williams' Mooney's Kid Don't Cry and Sidney Michaels' Dylan' Numerous other theatrical credits include works by James Goldman, Edward Albee, and Abe Burrows. She has appeared in several industrial films and TV commercials. She has also written two screenplays and is currently working on a book." ..........Diana LaSpada. |
