Actors Ink to debut “POCA Palace” at Phoenix Theatre

The “POCA Palace” is open for business this weekend. Actos Ink Theatre Company — the theater company for POCAs, or people of a certain age — is set to debut its new self-written and produced play “POCA Palace: A Cabaret of Sorts” on Aug. 22-25 at the Phoenix Theatre. “POCA Palace,” which is essentially a nightclub for POCAs, comes after the success of Actor’s Ink’s production of Crystal V. Rhode’s stage adaptation of “Grandmothers Incorporated” in fall of 2023. “This is one night at the POCA Palace,” director Sandra Gay said. “As we say in the show, anything can happen and often does.” The show follows a cast of POCAs during one night at the “POCA Palace,” filled with live music from jazz musicians Bill Myers and Clifford Ratliff and vocalist Brenda Williams, mixed in with a little mystery and romance. The idea came from the ladies in the cast, Gay said. They kept complaining about having fancy clothes in their closets and nowhere to wear them, so they decided to write and produce a show where they could.& The company members took matters into their own hands when it came to writing the show. Gay occasionally lended her expertise...