Article on "Touched By An Angel" Stage Play

The struggles of sustaining a family on a meager income – a plight known to millions of Americans trying to wade through this lagging economy – provide the dramatic fodder for a play premiering Friday in Buffalo East.“Touched by an Angel,” by local playwrights and Alemaedae Theatre Productions stalwarts Phil Davis and Taura “Chyna” Stephens, brings audiences into the troubled household of a husband, wife and their 19-year-old daughter, Angel. Cheryl, the mother, works so much to pay for her own mother’s medical bills and her daughter’s college education that her relationship with her family suffers. When Cheryl’s husband George gets a job offer elsewhere in the country and Angel starts to cry out for her parents’ attention, the family undergoes even more drama and turmoil.Alemaedae Theatre Productions has been a proving ground for many local actors and playwrights, especially Davis and Stephens, whose previous plays, written together and individually, include “So Fierce: Peter Williams,” “The Wonderful World of Peter Williams,” “Family Before Everything” and “Let’s Get It In” and “The Call.”“Touched by an Angel” continues through May 27 in Buffalo East (1410 Main St.). Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. For info, 602-6253 or www.webjam.com/atp2008. – Colin Dabkowski