“I’m hollerin’ at Tom.”
“Oh, Huck, how can you act so, when you know po’ Mars Tom –“ Then he let off an awful scream…
Tom Sawyer Abroad, Tom Sawyer, Detective: And Other Stories, Etc., Etc. Mark Twain 1894
Benny Pope as Sal. Photo by Felicia Chapple.
Benny Pope is a Maryland-based actor and comic. No stranger to Baltimore theater, he decided to adapt and expand part of his standup act into a one-man play, making its world premiere this weekend as part of Arena Players’ 67th season. In “Who Is You Hollerin’ At?” we meet a 74-year-old man named Sal, along with a bevy of neighbors old and new. Sal’s longtime neighborhood in a small southern city is changing. A large development is being built two blocks away, bringing with it a newfangled grocery store that features “vegtepaterian” options like “Yale Salad,” a carpetbagger couple from Iowa, and a gentrification-minded real estate speculator. Sal sees it all from his front porch, holding court ther