It's the world premiere of an original play by an Alabama playwright performed by his long-time players' group near the university where he taught. It's about an unusual Tennessee plowgirl.
"Fireball" performs for the first time March 8-10 at the Parnell Memorial Library Theater. The playhouse is near the geographical center of Alabama at 277 Park Drive in Montevallo. It is performed by the Montevallo Main Street Players at this, their home base.
Tickets can be purchased here.
Performances are at 7 p.m. on March 8 and 9 and a 2 p.m. matinee on March 10.
Norman McMillan, a retired English professor at the University of Montevallo (UM), wrote "Fireball" based on a memoir by Julia McMillan Walker and Hazel Linsey. McMillan has been a member of Main Street players since 1972.
The play tells the story as follows:
Hazel Lindsey, a Tennessee plowgirl who survived poverty, abuse, and eleven husbands, had only one year of formal education, but through determination, hard work, and keen intelligence she forged a remarkable life. As a young girl, she plowed a mule and cut timber like a man, and she even built a house for her mother and siblings. As an adult she owned her own restaurant, ran an upholstery shop, played guitar, sang, and buck-danced at country jubilees, and owned a huge flea market complex outside of Sweetwater, Tennessee. She even had a small role in the film, OCTOBER SKY.
Please note that this show might not be suitable for all audiences due to language and sensitive subject matter.
McMillan is a writer of all things Alabama. His memoir is "Distant Son: An Alabama Boyhood." He wrote a short-story collection, "The Gold-Plated Scarab." He wrote a play about Monroeville's best-selling non-fiction author, "Against A Copper Sky," about Truman Capote, author of the blockbuster "In Cold Blood." He wrote a play, "Ashes of Roses," based on stories by Alabama writer Mary Ward Brown.
In a bit of political trivia, McMillan's book "No Hill Too High for a Stepper: Memories of Montevallo, Alabama" became the inspiration for Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey's popular campaign saying, "No step too high for a high stepper." (Bet you always wondered where she got that.)
He also wrote a depression-era memoir called "The Path Was Steep: A Memoir of Appalachian Coal Camps During the Great Depression."
Jim Zeigler is a former Alabama Public Service Commissioner and State Auditor. You can reach him for comments at ZeiglerElderCare@yahoo.com.
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