Detria Ward, named Best Actress at last year’s Houston Theater Awards, appears as Elizabeth Borny in The Old Settler. John Henry Redwood’s bittersweet drama follows Elizabeth, a fifty-something spinster living in Harlem during WWII. Respectable, somber and self-contained Elizabeth lives with her rather nosey and noisy sister Quilly. When Elizabeth rents a room to a young man named Husband Witherspoon, Quilly is vocal about her opposition. When Elizabeth and Husband fall in love and make plans for a future together, Quilly is beside herself. Elizabeth, who’s more than old enough to be Husband’s mother, chalks Quilly’s reaction up to jealousy. As the women wrestle over the wisdom of Elizabeth’s relationship with Husband, a deeper rift between the two sisters is revealed.
7:30 p.m. Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays. Through June 1. The Ensemble Theatre, 3535 Main. For information, call 713‑520‑0055 or visit ensemblehouston.com. $19 to $44.
Thursdays, 7:30 p.m.; Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Starts: May 8. Continues through June 1, 2014
This article appears in May 8-14, 2014.