Dear Friend,
As I write this, the walls of the office here at the theatre are pulsing with the beat of the infamous man in black. All I'll say is, I bet you a shot of Jack (among Johnny's drinks of choice) that you'll be tappin' your feet and trying not to sing along.
Yee haw,
Marcie Bramucci
Director of Community Investment
Inside Ring of Fire
We welcome back David Lutken and Helen Russell (from Woody Sez) who join forces with seven other supremely talented musician-performers to ring out 39 songs on nearly as many instruments (from guitar and banjos, to fiddles and spoons!).
I snuck in to snap some behind the scenes pictures and listen in on their rehearsal. I cannot fully express the musicianship and joy in that room, but you'll get to experience it first-hand very soon...
This production is brought to life by many of our home-team:
Set Design by James F. ("Jeep") Pyne, Jr.
Costume Design by Marla J. Jurglanis
Lighting Design by Gregory Miller
Sound Design by Lucas Fendlay
Dramaturgy by Gina Pisasale
Kate McSorley Fossner wrangles this team and their bevy of instruments as Production Stage Manager — celebrating her 40th production with People's Light!
Surrounding Ring of Fire
Below are programs and services offered to "surround," increase access to, and deepen engagement with Ring of Fire.
Scoop on Wednesday, a lively pre-show discussion in which Gina Pisasale serves up the inside scoop and insightful context around the world of the play, complemented with light fare by The Farmhouse Bistro. Featured artist in conversation: performer-musician David Lutken (Woody Sez). Dates: 7/27, 8/3, 8/10 @6pm. Tickets $15 per person. Call 610.644.3500 to reserve.
Hootenanny Thursdays Audiences, local musicians, and music enthusiasts are invited to join the cast of Ring of Fire for a hootenanny following the 7:30pm Thursday performances on 7/21, 7/28, 8/4, and 8/11. Bring your instrument and jam with the cast!
SEPTA Saturdays! The Route 204 bus from the Paoli train station stops on our campus and now serves patrons for Saturday 2pm matinees. Bus arrives on campus at 1:48pm and departs at 5:05pm. Septa.org for details.
Subscriber Spotlight: Pat & Jane Lusk
What production from the past two years has stayed with you most?
Pat: For me, it has to be this season’s Richard
III.
Jane: I have to agree, the play seemed so topical and
ageless at the same time. I am still telling people about the staging, the
acting, the parallels with current events.
What was it about that production that made such a strong impression?
Pat: The multi-level set struck me as soon as I walked into the theater – how are they going to use that pile of junk? Is that a little pool over in the corner? And then when Pete Pryor came out with his video crutch, he just owned that stage and showed how powerful Shakespeare’s works are to this day. It was easily the most impressive performance I’ve ever had the privilege of watching. Read full interview with the Lusks here.
Around Town & Beyond
with company artists
Paul Meshejian and his team at PlayPenn embark on their 11th annual new play conference now through 7/24. Catch performances by Melanye Finister and Kevin Bergen throughout.
David Bradley is the writer/director of Voices of Voting, a new play commissioned by the Committee of Seventy, joining the history of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with the need for young voter engagement today. In performance: 7/25-27 at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia.
In the wake of his turn as "Buckingham" in Richard III, Christopher Patrick Mullen revisits the bard as "Costard" in Love's Labour's Lost at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, 7/27-8/3.
Just after closing Julius Caesar with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in the role of "Cassius," Greg Wood travels north to join the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire as "Henry Higgins" in Pygmalion, which runs 8/3-8/14.
Just returned from the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, where he played Mark Rothko in RED, Tom Teti dives into the world premier of Tommy and Me about football legend Tommy McDonald with Theater Exile at FringeArts, performing 8/3-8/14.
David Bradley is Founding Director of music non-profit LiveConnections, which just released "A Day In My Life," an album of 16 original songs created in partnership with Henry H. Houston School in Philadelphia. The culmination of a year-long writing and music-making residency at the school, the album was honored in the PA House of Representatives and in Philadelphia City Council. Listen here.
Zak Berkman's provocative new play The Harassment of Iris Malloy (now on stage!) will take the stage next in Detroit Public Theatre's upcoming season.
Causing a ruckus and having a BLAST are company members Abbey Adams, Wendy Bable, Samantha Reading, Claire Inie-Richards, and MB Scallen, as part of our summer intensive teaching artist and staff team. Click here for SummerBLAST details.
Samantha Reading leads LITTLES (ages 7-9)
Up Next
at People's Light
We round out the season with three FREE one-night readings of new plays in our Community Matters series: Skeleton Crew by New Play Frontiers writer Dominique Morisseau on 7/25, then Touch(ed) by Bess Wohl on 8/1, and White by Philadelphia-based playwright (and actor, director, you name it) James Ijames on 8/22.
Reservations are filling quickly and space is limited, so make sure to register in advance. Click here for details. Company member involvement (so far) includes David Bradley, Melanye Finister, David Ingram, Gina Pisasale, and Julianna Zinkel.
Community Matters, 2014.
On Stage Now
We recently extended The Harassment of Iris Malloy by Zak Berkman.
"Truly knockout performances"
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
"Strong and absorbing"
NEWSWORKS
More reviews here!
Julianna Zinkel, Pete Pryor, Teri Lamm in The Harassment of Iris Malloy.
Pssst!
If you didn't already know: our Box Office opens for you, our subscribers, on Tuesday, July 19 - a week before tickets go on sale to the general public. You can arrange tickets to any of next season's plays using your fancy shmancy subscriber discount (15% off) with code SUB16.
If you'd prefer not to receive this information, you can unsubscribe here.
Theatre News
Big news! We're expanding The Farmhouse to include a beautiful 2,000 square foot pavilion. The addition will allow us greater flexibility to plan events of any size - from a small dinner party or corporate event to weddings and events of up to 300 guests with on-site ceremony space. This exciting expansion project begins December 2016 and will be completed by March 2017. The charming...READ MORE
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