The Fayette County Public Library invites the public to attend “An Evening with Alpha Company,” a readers’ theatre presentation of excerpts from “The Things They Carried,” Tim O’Brien’s acclaimed 1990 novel of the Vietnam War.
The event is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 7 p.m. Admission is free, but seating will be limited. A sampling of foods representative of Vietnamese cuisine will be available free of charge to audience members.
Four local men will read the parts of the soldiers of Alpha Company, a platoon of infantrymen fighting in Vietnam. David Hobson, Ralph McDuffie, Bill Ramsey, and David Wiseman give voice to the men, with Hobson playing an older O’Brien looking back on the events of his youth, and the other three bringing his memories to life around him. The script is excerpted from a full-length unpublished stage adaptation written by Atlanta writer and filmmaker Joshua Wilcox, based upon Tim O’Brien’s original novel. A brief question-and-answer session with the company will take place immediately following the reading. Please note that this is a war story, and contains material that may not be suitable for young children.
This theatrical evening is the grand finale event for this year’s “Fayette on the Page: One Book, One Community” program. For the eighth year running, librarians have selected a book for all Fayette County residents to read, and planned public events to enrich and supplement the reading experience. The 2015 selection, “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, is a fictional work inspired by the author’s experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War.
“O’Brien sets out to ‘tell a true war story’ and succeeds by getting at truths that exist beyond the level of words, beyond the question of fact or fiction,” said Sarah Trowbridge, a public services librarian at Fayette County Public Library. “For 25 years, this book has been lauded equally by combat veterans who were there and by those who have never seen battle, for what it has to say not only about war, but also about memory, storytelling, and the human condition.”
All “Fayette on the Page” activities are free and open to the public, made possible through the generous support of the Friends of the Fayette County Public Library. Copies of “The Things They Carried” are available for checkout to PINES library card holders at the Fayette County Public Library. Any Georgia resident who does not already have a PINES card can receive one on the spot by showing proof of current address and filling out a brief application.
The Fayette County Public Library is located behind the Fayette County administration complex in downtown Fayetteville, at the southwest corner of Highways 85 and 54. For additional information about “Fayette on the Page: One Book, One Community,” please contact the library at 770-461-8841 or visit www.fayettecountyga.gov/public_library.
