THEATRE + COMEDY

Baytown Little Theater presents Nighthawks by Evan J. Blakes; directed by Fred White. 

Gil, bitterly unhappy over his disastrous marriage, tries to convince Donna, his ‘girlfriend’ of a year, to go home with him—his wife is out of town. Donna resists; her ex-husband, the day he returned wounded from World War II, caught her with Gil. Wray enters warily, with a bad limp, the result of a war incident which, he ultimately admits, was racially motivated. The injury destroyed his baseball career, and he’s bitter. The counterman, Jimmy, a hapless dreamer, greets and talk with Wray of their respective lost dreams. When Wray mentions his wartime friendship with a woman who resembled Donna and Donna responds with interest, Gil perceives it as a mutual flirtation and conflict ensues.

First Act "Nighthawks"
August 1943, Saturday, 1:00 am in the morning. It deals with the racial prejudices of the time.
The counterman, a dreamer, keeps peace in his diner when a man (cheating on his wife) and his girlfriend encounter a black soldier who has lost more than his leg in the recent war.

Second Act "The Night Cafe"
September 1983, Saturday, 2:00 am in the morning. It deals with AIDS related prejudices of the time.
The four character are now in different roles. The unconventional pimp is the strength of a young girl who is mentally retarded following an accident. Following the drama between the two of them are the counterman and his ex-lover. The tension there builds as old wounds are examined under the scrutiny of the impending AIDS-related death of the ex- lovers boyfriend ( the guy he left the counterman for).

"Nighthawks’ (and its companion piece ‘The Night Cafe’) is an ensemble work. It examines the different lonelinesses of wartime America in the ’40s, the war-built hopes and war-destroyed hopes, and the wartime racial divisiveness rampant in the Army and across the nation. Also, ‘Nighthawks’ examines the themes of the Hopper (detail pictured) painting—loneliness, need for contact, and sleepless isolation of the ‘nighthawks’ of American society.

"Nighthawks" is being presented jointly with the Art Park Players, as part of TNT's Production of Original Plays (POPS) program, Friday, June 19 and Saturday, June 20, at the BLT facility. All proceeds from this event will benefit Baytown Little Theater's building fund.