Catskill, NY — Bridge Street Theatre concludes its 2026 SoloFest festival with Archie Parish’s Parting Words, a deeply personal solo performance written and performed by Academy Award–winning playwright Ernest Thompson (On Golden Pond). The production runs March 20–22 in Catskill as the final installment of the theatre’s annual festival of intimate, actor-driven performance.
Blurring the boundaries between eulogy and confession, comedy and heartbreak, the piece follows Archie Parish — a reluctant and irreverent eulogist — as he delivers a series of raw and unsparing memorials for the flawed and the forgotten.
Through humor, compassion, and emotional honesty, Archie Parish’s Parting Words explores the universal longing for meaning, forgiveness, and connection in the face of mortality. The work blends storytelling, wit, and reflection, inviting audiences to discover the hidden gold in every life and to embrace the courage to live fully while the music lasts.
About the Artist
Ernest Thompson is an Academy Award–winning playwright, screenwriter, actor, and director best known as the author of the beloved play On Golden Pond. The play premiered Off-Broadway in 1978 before moving to Broadway in 1979 and was later adapted by Thompson into the acclaimed 1981 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, along with a Golden Globe and Writers Guild Award.
His additional stage and screen work includes The West Side Waltz, Sweet Hearts Dance, and the Emmy-nominated film Out of Time. Thompson continues to write, direct, and perform new work for theatre and film.
Performance Schedule
March 20–22, 2026
Friday & Saturday at 7:00pm
Sunday at 2:00pm
Tickets: $30 Adults | $25 Students
Tickets and additional information:
BridgeSt.org
Bridge Street Theatre’s SoloFest is an annual celebration of intimate, actor-driven performance presented over three consecutive weekends each March. The festival brings nationally recognized artists and compelling solo works to the Hudson Valley, offering audiences the rare opportunity to experience powerful storytelling up close in Bridge Street Theatre’s distinctive Catskill performance space.
Founded in 2014, Bridge Street Theatre is dedicated to producing bold new work, adventurous revivals, and distinctive theatrical experiences in the Village of Catskill.
