Hudson, N.Y.— On Saturday, November 7th at 4 p.m., Christ Church Episcopal presents a reading of “Banking on Rio,” a politically charged drama written and directed by Carolyn Kay Brancato.
Set on Wall Street and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the play follows Lizzy, an ambitious, well-meaning investment banker-in-training who struggles to bring progress to a favela (slum) in Rio. The world of global finance is engagingly illuminated through real-life deals that Lizzy’s Uncle Martin orchestrates. She’s on board until she meets Marcos, a charismatic Brazilian agitator who is demonstrating against Martin’s plan to demolish his medical center in the slum and relocate the locals.
Lizzy’s earnest desire to help the locals despite what she increasingly fears is a corrupt and dangerous situation. The play gets especially lively when we meet Leila, a Brazilian firecracker of a samba teacher who lives with Marcos but is having an affair with Martin. Lizzy tries to make sense of the chaos surrounding her but is thwarted at every turn. Will her dogged determination win out? If so, at what personal and professional price?
Brancato is on the board of The Great Barrington Public Theatre. She has had her plays performed off-Broadway at the former John Houseman theatre, Steppenwolf in Chicago, the Church Street Theatre in D.C., and The Foundry in West Stockbridge. She wrote and directed “Censored: Readings from Banned Books,” originally performed in NYC in 1991 with a cast that included Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson. As a choreographer she created works for the DC City Ballet and was the dance consultant for the wedding sequence in Francis Ford Coppola’s film “Gardens of Stone.” She is the author of two historical novels, “The Knight Belongs to the Maquis” and “The Circus Pig and the Kaiser.”
The reading is on Saturday, November 7th at 4 p.m. at Christ Church Episcopal, located at 431 Union Street in Hudson. Tickets and more information can be found online.
