<< Back 11/27/02 ‘Ellen Foster’ to benefit child advocacy agency SMN The two-person stage version of “Ellen Foster,” the play adapted by Barbara Bates Smith from the Kaye Gibbons novel and directed by Suzanne Tinsley, will show Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. at the North Carolina Stage Company at 33 Haywood St. in Asheville. The production will feature Ann Hellreich as Ellen and actress/adapter Smith as Ellen’s alter ego, with musical accompaniment by Mark Jaben of Waynesville. The show is a benefit for WNC Child Advocacy & Prevention Services. “Ellen Foster” recounts the tale of a spunky girl who overcomes adversity and child abuse with spunk, humor and determination; she is often referred to as a female Huck Funn. Smith made her off-Broadway debut in 1991 with “Ivy Rowe,” adapted from the Lee Smith novel Fair and Tender Ladies. She has toured this one-woman piece continually since that time. Her other stage adaptations include additional Lee Smith pieces and a Fred Chappell sampler. In 2001 Smith starred in the Pulitzer Prize drama, “WIT,” at the HART Theatre in Waynesville. Currently she and Asheville oncologist Eric Kuehn are offering a public service program, “The C-Word: A Doctor-Patient Dialogue on Cancer.” The WNC Child Advocacy & Prevention Services is a local non-profit agency that works to reduce/prevent child abuse and neglect through prevention, education and counseling. Ticket are a $10 minimum donation and information is available at WNC Child Advocacy & Prevention Services. Call 828.254.2000 for more information.