The “POCA Palace” is open for business this weekend.
Actors Ink Theatre Company — the theater company for POCAs, or people of a certain age — is set to debut its new self-written and produced play “POCA Palace: A Cabaret of Sorts” on Aug. 22-25 at the Phoenix Theatre. “POCA Palace,” which is essentially a nightclub for POCAs, comes after the success of Actor’s Ink’s production of Crystal V. Rhode’s stage adaptation of “Grandmothers Incorporated” in fall of 2023.
“This is one night at the POCA Palace,” director Sandra Gay said. “As we say in the show, anything can happen and often does.”
The show follows a cast of POCAs during one night at the “POCA Palace,” filled with live music from jazz musicians Bill Myers and Clifford Ratliff and vocalist Brenda Williams, mixed in with a little mystery and romance.
The idea came from the ladies in the cast, Gay said. They kept complaining about having fancy clothes in their closets and nowhere to wear them, so they decided to write and produce a show where they could.
The company members took matters into their own hands when it came to writing the show. Gay occasionally lended her expertise — like a “traffic director,” she said — to move them in the right direction, but the storyline, characters and music were entirely created by the POCAs.
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Dr. Eric Yancy, one of the first Black pediatricians in Indianapolis, plays the role of the emcee, and helps move the show along throughout the night. Yancy got into theater because of his wife, but he continues because he loves the people he gets to work with.
“I’ve always liked the theater, and I liked the fact that it (the story) evolved over a period of time,” Yancy said. “As a fiction writer, you can actually craft your own story and make it fit to where you want it to go, and I think that’s the fun part. You don’t have to follow someone else’s script, just create it and go with it.”
The show blends a good mix of comedy, romance and surprises while showcasing the talent of live local musicians, Yancy said, and it will have something for everyone to enjoy.
“I think that the audience can look forward to just a good variety of individuals who some may have considered to be ‘over the hill,’” Yancy said. “I think that people will see that, ‘Oh, they’re not over the hill after all,’ that liveliness and humor and whatever is ageless.”
“POCA Palace: A Cabaret of Sorts” takes place Aug. 22-25 at the Phoenix Theatre. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at phoenixtheatre.org.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-8748. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgvowanxx.
