Fur Will Fly: Cleve Williams is Sciurus in THE SQUIRRELS

Things are not so great at the great tree. Winter is coming, and aging gray squirrel Scurius refuses to share his stockpile of nuts with the rival fox squirrels. Will his greed trigger a war? Will his hubris blind him to his own family’s machinations?

A boundary-pushing satire about class and wealth inequality, Robert Askins' THE SQUIRRELS completes its Firemen's Kitchen run this weekend, October 31st through November 2nd.

Returning to the stage as the Scurius, the squirrel chieftain who learns that pride goeth before the fall from the branch, is Kay Award Winner Cleve Williams.

After serving in the United States Air Force for eleven years, Williams returned to the Hickory area and his "hometown theatre" at HCT. Williams most recently appeared at HCT in AIRNESS, for which he received a Kay Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Play. Other HCT credits include SHADOWLANDS, ROMEO AND JULIET, and another Kay Award-winning performance in WIT. He has also appeared in BEAU JEST and WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF at CVCC, and in DEARLY DEPARTED at The HUB.

Williams, who considers himself the actor most likely to overthink an "actor most likely" question, is more to the point about the appeal of THE SQUIRRELS. "It is the perfectly balance ballet of of serious social commentary and bawdy humor."

Performances of THE SQUIRRELS are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, October 31st through November 2nd at 7:30PM. Tickets are $18 for adults, $12 for youth and students.

Tickets are available online at hickorytheatre.org, or by phone at 828-328-2283. The theatre box office is open from 12-5 PM Wednesday through Friday, or one half-hour before a performance.

THE SQUIRRELS is rated R. It contains adult language, squirrel-on-squirrel violence, and yes, nuts. Under 17 requires adult guardian.

THE SQUIRRELS is produced in association with Diane's Shelter. The Hickory Community Theatre’s 76th season is sponsored by Shurtape Technologies, Protection Products, Inc., A Cleaner World, and LifeRootz. HCT is a Funded Affiliate of Arts Culture Catawba and receives additional support from the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

(Photo by Eric Seale)