Mugleston to Star in West Coast Premiere of Dessa Rose

Broadway veteran Linda Mugleston will star in the West Coast premiere of Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens' Dessa Rose.

Presented by TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA, the musical will run from October 4th through 29th at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.  Artistic director Robert Kelley will direct.

According to TheatreWorks notes, the show, by the writers of Once On This Island, Ragtime, and more, is "an engaging story of pride, perseverance, and unlikely friendship forged between an abandoned southern belle and a rebellious slave girl escaping the antebellum South. As a stirring, emotional score captures the rhythms and roots of 19th century America, their intertwined saga cries out for the independence and freedom that forever define the human spirit."  Dessa Rose, with music by Flaherty and book and lyrics by Ahrens, is based on the Sherley Anne Williams.

In addition to Mugleston (Wonderful Town, Nine, Into the Woods), who will play Ruth, and Carly Hughes, who will play the title role, the production will star Travis Poelle, John Eric Parker, C. Kelly Wright, C. J. Blankenship, Ian Leonard, and Mary Melnick, as well as Cathleen Ridley, Dawn L. Troupe and Brian Frutiger.

Visit www.theatreworks.org for more information.