Greenfield, MA – An ambitious selection of plays makes up Silverthorne Theater Company’s 2019 Season of plays and promises a banquet of theatrical experiences with something for all tastes.
TALES OF THE LOST FORMICANS
Our opening show Tales of the Lost Formicans, by Constance Congdon, is a modern classic. This witty and passionate play explores the story of a man with Alzheimer’s and at the same time turns into a travel guide to Middle America conducted by aliens from outer space. The play opens Thursday, April 25 and runs through May 4 in The Perch at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield
Tales Director and Amherst College Theater Professor Yagil Eliraz is a colleague of playwright Congdon, Amherst College Professor Emeritus of Playwriting. A native of Israel, this is the first professional production Eliraz has directed in this country since coming here three years ago.
Eliraz is thrilled to be working with the playwright, who is considered “One of the best playwrights our country, and our language, has produced.” (Tony Kushner) “Congdon writes like a woman possessed.” (Nels Nelson, New York Daily News) Her work appears in many collections and continues to be produced worldwide.
The cast includes STC favorites as Stephanie Carlson* and Frank Aronson* and, new to us, Polly Pillsbury, Val Vaille, Joe Cardozo, Molly MacLeod, and Michael Marceline. (*Member of Actors Equity Association) Abigail Douglas will stage manage; Mike Bullock will design the sound. John Iverson, Tech Direcior, and Reba-Jean Shaw-Pichette, Costume Designer, round out the staff.
Opening night for Tales, April 25, will be UNITED WAY NIGHT, with tickets specially priced to benefit the United Way of Franklin County Plans are underway for a 6:00 pm pre-show dinner and reception with the playwright in attendance. Details at https://silverthornetheater.org.
THE FANTASTICKS
Romantic? Yes. Heartwarming? Yes. The perfect musical? YES! Not for nothing is The Fantsticks the longest running Broadway show ever. This show opens June 20 and runs through June 29 in The Perch at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield.
Tom Jones’ and Harvey Schmidt’s book and music portray familiar themes of young love and over-anxious parents that are always relevant and charmingly represented. “Try to Remember” and “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” are songs that appeal to everyone’s sense of life’s trials and the rewards of hope.
Under the direction of STC veteran Carmela Lanza-Weil, the production will have a very new and fresh take! Ted Trobaugh serves as Music Director. Lanza-Weil directed the winner of Silverthorne’s 2015 New Play Contest, Aidan’s Gift. Last season’s Tar2f! saw Trobaugh as both Music Director and in the role of Cleante.
Fantasticks’ cast members include Andy Zane, Jasmine Goodspeed, Stephanie Carlson*, Larry Picard, John Reese*, Autumn Tustin, David Cavallin, and Madeleine Bolles Oldernburg. (*Member of Actors Equity Association). Hannah Trobaugh will design the production. Sharon Weyers stage manages the production; John Iverson, Tech Direcior, and Reba-Jean Shaw-Pichette, Costume Designer, round out the staff.
STC pairs up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Franklin County for a special Opening Night Reception on Thursday, June 20 with a special ticket price which will benefit their organization. The reception will kick off at 7 pm that night.
THE REVOLUTIONISTS
We open the fall with Lauren Gunderson’s The Revolutionists, under the direction of UMass Theater Department chair Gina Kaufman. The play tears away the veils of history that have long obscured the role of women in the French Revolution.
And what women! Marie Antoinette! Charlotte Corday! Olympe De Gouge and Marianne Angelle! What would they be saying in 2019? The show opens September 19 and runs through September 28 in The Perch at Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in Greenfield. Further information about the cast and special events will be forthcoming.
THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK
In these troubled times we shoulder again the responsibility for bearing witness to our common humanity and for tearing down the walls that block empathy. In the name of all those to whom doors are closed, who live in fear, who suffer in obscurity, we dedicate our production of The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett.
Keith Langsdale, who directed STC’s world premiere White, Black & Blue in 2018, will direct this classic theater piece that centers on the voice of a young Dutch Jewish girl who with her family has been forced to seek refuge during the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands. The play opens October 17 and runs through October 26. More information will be forthcoming about the cast and special programming around this production.
The Upper Pioneer Valley’s only small professional company, Silverthorne enjoys its status as resident company at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center in downtown Greenfield’s Cultural District.
Ticket and reservation information may be found on Silverthorne’s web site: https://silverthornetheater.org Tickets for all shows are currently available at Eventbrite.com, or by calling 413-768-7514. Patrons can now use credit cards at the door or over the phone.
Silverthorne Theater Company was founded in 2013 and mounted its first season in the summer of 2014. From the start, STC has paid its actors and technicians and is committed to contributing as much as possible to the cultural economy of the Upper Pioneer Valley. We are a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization and are members of the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and the Northfield Area Tourism and Business Association. We partner with local restaurants and businesses, and reach out to the towns and organizations in our area with performances, classes, ticket donations and publicity. For information on the history of Silverthorne, go to https://silverthornetheater.org
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