BARBOURVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) -A play about a Kentucky candy maker is headed to an off-Broadway stage, and a hometown theater group is raising money to make the trip and cheer them on.<\/p>\n
Playwright Cat Goguen is taking audiences back to the 1920s with the true story of Ruth Hunt, a Mount Sterling candy maker whose friends pushed her to turn sweets made at home into a real business.<\/p>\n
\u201cRuth Hunt, who is from Mount Sterling, a candy maker, starting in the 1920s at her home with a bridge club. And her friends encouraged her to branch out into a business,\u201d Goguen said.<\/p>\n
Goguen said the play is more than a history lesson. It is a story about what it took for a woman to build something in a time when that was not easy, and why that message still matters across Kentucky today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what people need to know about Kentucky and about small towns in Kentucky. The people are resilient. And this, I think, represents that. And I think that\u2019s why taking it to the national stage,\u201d Goguen said.<\/p>\n
The play was first performed in Mount Sterling, then taken to Louisville, where the response helped push it onto a bigger stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrace Regional Arts Center at Mount Sterling first performed. They performed it in April at the Actors Theater in Louisville. And that\u2019s when we all found out that it\u2019s going to New York City,\u201d said Willie Carr, an actor and supporter.<\/p>\n
Supporters in the community said the trip is not cheap, but they believe it is worth it, not just for the cast and crew, but for Eastern Kentucky.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope we break the stereotype,\u201d said Donna Mills, an actor and supporter.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t ever give up. If you have a dream, you know, catch it,\u201d Carr said.<\/p>\n
The performance is set for Aug. 29 at the Jerry Orbach Theater in New York City. The group said they are fundraising now to help cover travel costs and taking donations online.<\/p>\n