Catskill’s Bridge Street Theatre is delighted to announce its 2019 line-up of plays – five magnificent and audacious stage works for audiences to savor between April and October. It includes two world premieres, a Victorian comedy, an American classic and an astounding musical about The Shaggs.
“2018 was a year of exciting growth for our scrappy little operation,” says John Sowle, Bridge Street’s Artistic and Managing Director. “2019 promises to continue in that vein, offering even more of the audacious, risk-taking programming that’s been our calling card ever since we opened our doors. Seeing our reputation for exciting new work spread and audiences, even those from outside our community, beginning to flock to our productions, has been hugely gratifying. Come share some amazing evenings – and afternoons – with us this season.”
Here are the plays in BST’s fourth full Mainstage Subscription Season:
April 23 – May 5
THE LETTERS by David Zellnik (World Premiere)
Henry studies dead languages. Rachel studies living languages. And Rajiv is the artist who lives with both in a squat in Berlin, enmeshed in a post-collegiate tangle of friendship, love, and sex. 10 years later, Henry is gone, and Rajiv and Rachel’s long engagement is fraying. In the course of a single day (with flashbacks to the times they shared in Berlin), they wrestle with the past and attempt to chart a future for themselves in a language they have yet to create. A brilliant and deeply moving new work from the author of the musical “Yank!”, “Sharon/Herzl”, and “The F#@%ing Wright Brothers”.
May 30 – June 9
THE MOORS by Jen Silverman
Two sisters (and a melancholy mastiff) live in a ruinous old house on the bleak and fog-enshrouded English moors, dreaming of love and power. When a hapless governess (and a crash-prone moor-hen) arrive out of nowhere, lies are unmasked, loyalties shift, and all are set on a strange and dangerous path until finally – someone reaches the breaking point! A mysterious, menacing, and savagely funny mash-up – as though the Brönte Sisters had been dropped into a comedic production of a play by Samuel Beckett – from one of the most exciting young playwriting talents on the scene today.
July 11 – July 21
THE SHAGGS: PHILOSOPHY OF THE WORLD
Book and Lyrics by Joy Gregory
Music by Gunnar Madsen
In rural New Hampshire in the late 1960s, a working-class dad has a vision of rock n’ roll stardom for his three talentless daughters, convinced that they’re the family’s one-way ticket out of poverty. But his girls have other ideas, and when his ambition turns into an obsession, the price of familial love and obligation becomes tragically clear. Based on actual events and featuring Steven Patterson, re-creating the role (a cross between Mama Rose in “Gypsy” and King Lear) he played in the award-winning world premiere production in Los Angeles. A captivating and bravely off-kilter new musical that finds sweet harmonies in the story of probably the worst rock band ever.
September 12 – September 22
BETTER by Michelle Carter (World Premiere)
20-year-old Emily’s life is turned upside-down when her mother commits an unthinkable crime and the rest of the world seems to be unable to see her except through the prism of her mother’s violent act. She leaves school, takes a job at a fondue restaurant, consults a medium, and, like the good student she’s always been, searches for answers. How will she be able to endure her pain? Does she deserve to be happy? What might she be capable of? And will things ever get “better”? Another deliciously quirky comedy about serious subjects from the author of BST’s 2017 production of “How to Pray”.
October 17 – October 27
THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES by Frank D. Gilroy
An American classic. When Timmy Cleary returns home from World War II, he finds himself in the middle of another war. His parents are trapped in a cycle of unresolved marital issues and each wants to enlist him as an ally in their battle against one another. Tiny gestures suddenly have huge implications in this familial tug-of-war, winner of the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the Tony and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Play. A quietly devastating drama of family conflict – and love – directed by Catskill’s beloved Flo Hayle.
All performances in BST’s Mainstage Subscription Season take place Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinees at 2:00pm, at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY. BST’s prices are extremely affordable! Advance tickets for individual shows are $22 and tickets are also available for purchase at the door on a space available basis for $25 prior to each performance. Tickets for Students ages 21 and under are always $10.
But Bridge Street is offering a full five-show subscription package for only $100 for adults and $50 for students. Subscribers are also issued a membership card which entitles them to substantial discounts to virtually all other events held at the theatre, as well as special offers from local merchants. To purchase either a Subscription Package or individual tickets, visit BST2019.BrownPaperTickets.com or call them at 800-838-3006.
In addition to its five-play Subscription series, other events for 2019 include:
January 6. The Zelos Saxophone Quartet
January 27. CHARLES BUSCH: NATIVE NEW YORKER. A brand-new cabaret show with the fabulous Charles Busch, accompanied by Tom Judson
March 11 – 17. Concrete Temple Theatre, in residence to workshop their new piece, PACKRAT
April 4 – 6. Power Productions from Newfoundland, Canada, presents CRIPPLED. (A co-production with EXIT Theatre in San Francisco)
April 7. LIFE HAPPENS. A new cabaret by Flo Hayle
June 22. BRIDGE STREET BELLY DANCE 2019
August 15 – 25. A Shakespeare Sampler. Steven Patterson in Gareth Armstrong’s SHYLOCK in repertory with Roxanne Fay’s one-woman take on the real Lady Macbeth.
November 22-24. Concrete Temple Theatre returns with a full production of PACKRAT
TBD. The musical RIVER OF DREAMS by Hudson Talbott, with music and lyrics by Frank Cuthbert, and staged by renowned opera director Jay Lesenger.
Ongoing. Movie Mondays. Free screenings of odd and unusual films on occasional Monday evenings. And perhaps Saturday morning movies for kids! Curated by Steven Patterson.
And there’s plenty more to come. You can always find out more about everything coming up at Bridge Street Theatre by visiting BridgeStreetTheatre.org, by looking in on the Bridge Street Theatre page on Facebook, or by calling the theater’s offices at (518) 943-3818.
Events at Bridge Street Theatre are supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by Public Funds from the Greene County Legislature through the Cultural Fund administered in Greene County by the Greene County Council on the Arts.
