FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE....April 1, 2004
Contact David Turner, 518-798-7479

Adirondack Theatre Festival 10^th season to feature
Regional premiere of David Mamet’s BOSTON MARRIAGE
Regional premiere of comedy STONES IN HIS POCKETS
World premiere musical MIMI LE DUCK
New Solo Performance COAST TO COAST by Marc Wolf
Plus ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY! 

10^th Season to run June 17 – July 31, all at the new
Charles R. Wood Theater, Downtown Glens Falls

 Oliver Wadsworth and Kirk Jackson (ATF’S ART 2001) to return for tour-de-force performances in STONES IN HIS POCKETS

     The Adirondack Theatre Festival’s 10^th season will feature regional premieres of two recent hits from Off-Broadway and Broadway, a world premiere 8 person musical, and a work-in-progess solo performance.  “All this and Elaine Stritch too!”, says ATF Artistic Director Martha Banta, referring to the 3-might Gala which will celebrate ATF’s 10^th anniversary and its first show in the new Charles R. Wood Theater.  “This season represents so much of what we set out for ATF to be 10 years ago, but also takes us in some new directions as well.  BOSTON MARRIAGE is the most recent play by one of America’s best living playwrights, and it’s a period piece set in the 19^th century which is not something ATF has done very often.  STONES IN HIS POCKETS is an import from London and Broadway, but we jumped on the chance to do it because two actors who have been part of the ATF artistic community in the past will be performing in it.  MIMI LE DUCK continues our commitment to new work, and will be the largest musical we have produced since LUCKY STIFF in 1997.  And finally having developed so many great solo shows at ATF in our first decade, I’m thrilled that our audience will be able to help an artist like Marc Wolf develop his new show COAST TO COAST.”

     As previously announced, ATF will present three gala performances of ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY,  the show which the New York Times called “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Broadway history being made” when it ran on Broadway in 2002.  Joined by a nine-piece orchestra, AT LIBERTY chronicles Elaine Stritch’s legendary 60 years in on Broadway in words and music, and promises to be one of the hottest tickets in the region this summer.

     After the 3 Gala Performances of ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY June 17-19,  ATF will continue with David Mamet’s BOSTON MARRIAGE June 23 – July 3.  “Long before New Paltz marriages, there were Boston Marriages”, says Banta who will direct BOSTON MARRIAGE.  “I like a lot of Mamet’s work such as GLENGARY GLEN ROSS, SPEED THE PLOW, and so many of his films, but this play is a real departure for him, writing about women in the nineteenth century.  I laughed out loud when I read it, and now it’s become quite topical!”  The three-character play presents two Boston society women and their complicated romantic entanglements.  Mistaken identity and intrigue rule the day, and the nosy Irish maid provides further complications.  BOSTON MARRIAGE will be designed by Eric Renschler (sets), Matthew Frey (lights), Susan Slack (costumes) and Douglas Graves (sound) who between them have designed more than 25 shows in ATF’s first decade!  Casting for BOSTON MARRIAGE is currently TBA.

     Next up will be the regional premiere of the Olivier Award-winning comedy STONES IN HIS POCKETS which runs July 7 -17.  This two character play also ran on Broadway in 2002 and features tour-de-force performances by two actors who play more than a dozen characters each, portraying the residents of a small Irish town and the visiting Americans who are making a Hollywood blockbuster.  Playing the roles of Charlie, Jake, Simon, Carolne, Aisling, Mickey (the oldest surviving extra from John Wayne’s The Quite Man) and several others will be actors Kirk Jackson and Oliver Wadsworth who appeared in ATF’s sold-out production of ART in 2001.  Wadsworth also appeared in ATF’s THE DEAL in 1997 and Capital Repertory Theater’s production of FULLY COMMITTED  last year.

     ATF will continue its tradition of presenting new and unique musicals with the world premiere of MIMI LE DUCK July 21-31. Miriam, a Mormon mother of two living in Ketchum, Idaho who paints ducks to sell on the QVC channel, dreams of the artist’s life she never lead.  After Ketchum’s best known suicidal author, Ernest Hemmingway, urges her to follow her dreams, she fleas to Paris and a begins a bohemian existence among a group of colorful characters.  This 8-person musical has Book and Lyrics by Diane Hansen-Young and Music is by Brian Feinstein, two writers who teamed up at NYU’s Musical Theater Writing Program.  MIMI LE DUCK will be directed by  Thomas Caruso.

     ATF’s developmental slot this year will follow in the tradition of FULLY COMMITTED, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING, BARBARA’S BLUE KITCHEN, and other solo shows which have been developed at ATF and gone on to be produced around the country.  COAST TO COAST: On The Road Home is a new work-in-progress by Marc Wolf, whose previous show ANOTHER AMERICAN ASKING AND TELLING has been performed across the country and won numerous awards.  COAST TO COAST is based on interviews Marc conducted across the country as he traveled home to New York City by car in the days following 9/11.  Emily Mann, the Artistic Director of The McCarter Theater in Princeton, NJ will direct.  COAST TO COAST plays for just two nights: July 25-26. 

     Besides these four productions and ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY, ATF’s season will include 4 Children’s Workshops on Saturdays in July, a New Play reading, Post-Show Discussions, and a new Black Box Dinner where subscribers can join ATF staff for a box dinner and discussion in the Rehearsal Room of the Charles Wood Theater before a performance.

     The Adirondack Theatre Festival’s tenth season will run June 17 – July 31 at the new Charles R. Wood Theater on Glen Street in Downtown Glens Falls.  Discount season subscriptions are now on sale for $51 (three shows) or $64 (four shows) – same prices as 2003!  As well, tickets for ELAINE STRITCH AT LIBERTY can be added on to any subscription for either $80 or $65.  Individual (non-subscription) tickets for all shows go on sale May 17.  To  receive a season brochure call 798-7479 or email boxoffice@ATFestival.org.

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ATTENTION MEMBERS OF THE PRESS!
High-quality digital images of Oliver Wadsworth and Kirk Jackson in STONES IN HIS POCKETS as well as Elaine Stritch and a rendering of the Charles R. Wood Theater interior can be downloaded directly from our website at www.ATFestival.org/press