WILLIAMSVILLE — The Rock River Players present Nickel and Dimed, a play by Joan Holden, based on Barbara Ehrenreich's book Nickel and Dimed: on (Not) Getting By in America. Performances are Aug. 1-4 and will be at the Williamsville Hall on Dover Road.
Ehrenreich's memoir chronicles her journey across America as she tries to live on minimum wage. In the play, the author, played by Vicky Santiesteban, weaves in and out of the lives of her co-workers, who labor to fulfill job commitments while struggling to balance life challenges at poverty wages.
Gail (Dawn Slade) the waitress and others at Kenny's Diner deal with pressures both on and off the job; Carlie (Cherie Moran), an Economy Inn housekeeper, tries to find employment in keeping with her declining health; Holly (Sherry Brown), in charge of the Magic Maids house cleaning crew, finds her craving for advancement threatened by medical problems; Patti (Sue Kelly), a nursing home cook, escapes into fantasy; and Melissa (Sherry Brown), a Mall-Mart associate, finds in religion the beginnings of self-assertion.
Other cast and crew members include: Bahman Mahdavi, Miles Keefe, Stewart McDermet, Mary Margaret Castro, Johanna Gardner, Susan O'Hara, Connie Baxter, David Roberts, Tanyan Avendano, Maria Pugnetti, Rose Watson, Emi Morita, and Annie Landenberger.
“Economic justice demands fair pay and medical care for the people who provide our service economy,” Director John Moran said in a news release. “Since the government has failed, we hope this play will give the community incentive to demand action."
Moran cautions that the play contains adult language.