I am playing the role of Debbie.
What happens when two women, one a German tourist, the20other an African American café owner, meet in the middle of the Mojave Desert? The result is ‘Truck Stop Café’ a dramedy adapted from the 1987 film, Bagdad Café.
‘Truck Stop Café’ takes place in a down-at-heel café and motel in the Mojave Desert. The mismatched cast of characters includes a comfortably built German tourist named Jasmin. After being dumped on the roadside following an argument with her husband between Las Vegas and L.A, Jasmin walks to the nearest café/motel owned by Brenda, a short-tempered, well-worn African American mother of two who has just thrown her husband out. The motel is also home to Rudy, an ex-Hollywood set-painter and Debbie a glamorous tattoo artist who never speaks, but enjoys the confusion of the surroundings. Through the course of their encounter, Jasmin transforms the ill tempered Brenda through cleaning and magic tricks.
Brenda is played by Suzanne Nichols, who has featured in numerous productions throughout California, Seattle and Thailand. Most recently she appeared as ‘Lucretia’ in Michael Butler’s Production of ‘Pope Joan; The Musical’. One reviewer described her performance as ‘riveting’. One of her most notable roles to date was as Eartha Kitt in the NAACP nominated ‘My Name is Eartha, But You May Call Me Miss Kitty’. Suzanne’s performance as Eartha Kitt, which one revie wer described as “more Eartha than Eartha” is not to be missed. Suzanne Nichols also performed in Michael Butler’s production of ‘HaiR’ for which she received an L.A. Weekly Award for Musical of the Year.
Jasmin is played by Karin Dulude, an actress who is by no means new to the stage. Dulude has just closed in ‘Hepburn Sings’. She has played a multitude of roles at the Playhouse Theatre Players, as well as the Zoo District and other production companies. She also appears in ‘Inside Vincent Price’. Dulude has been a member of Playhouse Theatre Players for fifteen years. She describes ‘Truck Stop Café’ as; “a play filled with laughter, tears, anger and joy mixed with our life's passions and purposes. A slice of time with costumes, a script, and a song.”
Truck Stop Café opens at the Playhouse Theatre Players on Friday June 5th at 8pm and runs through to June 26th 2009."
