Far from Mayberry

This place has that small-town feel, ambient whistling and is also a place where everyone knows everyone else’s names. It may sound like Mayberry – the perfect community – but as soon as the play begins, the audience soon realizes this town is full of secrets, cautious whispers and “incidents” that happen with every wrong move against a powerful resident.\nIn the IU Department of Theatre and Drama’s world-premiere production of “Jimmy Cory,” secrets unfold and whispers drift into the audience. The play centers around Jimmy Cory, a man from Queens, New York, and the pressure to “do the right thing” while still protecting those he cares for against malicious greed.\n“Jimmy Cory” is a new play written by IU student Kevin Daly for his graduate thesis. The two-act play opened Friday in the Wells-Metz Theatre to a packed house.\n The message to keep trying even as things get darker pervades the play and Jimmy Cory, played convincingly by junior Winston Fiore. With each step he takes, a new problem arises and the struggle to make things right shows on his face and in his actions. \nA strange whistling interrupts each time the lights go down, sounding more like Deliverance than Mayberry.\nFiore is joined by junior Matt Thompson Gripe, who is completely believable as Frank Lipman, an older man not-too-content living next door to the Corys. The make-up only improves his great performance as he masters the demeanor of an elderly man.\nAs the play progresses, Cory tries to find new answers in how to protect his pregnant wife Maria, played by junior Zoe O’Dea, and his little brother Bobby, played by freshman Kelly P. Lusk. Cory must even keep an eye on police officer Gerry Weathers, played by senior David Sheehan, a friend who Jimmy suspects has been bought.\nThe whole town seems to be embroiled in an operation that keeps the play’s smooth-talking villain, James “Flip” Carrigan, played by doctoral student Chris Hatch, rich and always in power.\nWhile keeping an eye on everyone else, Cory must also watch Claire, played by freshman Ilana Mollick, a trouble-seeking teenager who has caught his brother’s eye.\nAnyone who has been forced into a Catch-22 could relate to this play. The “damned if you do/ damned if you don’t” experience puts the human mind in overdrive to search for the answer to which is greater: loved ones or your mind’s freedom.\n“Jimmy Cory” will be running at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, with a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday at the Wells-Metz Theatre. Tickets are $16 for adults, and there is a student and senior discount for the Tuesday through Thursday and the matinee shows. Student rush tickets are available the day of the performance for $10 cash with a valid student ID. Tickets are available at the IU Auditorium Box Office or through Ticketmaster. Visit www.theatre.indiana.edu for more information.