CTC Closes 25th Anniversary Season with THE AMISH PROJECT, Now thru 8/24

Chester Theatre Company will complete its 25th Anniversary Season with Jessica Dickey's THE AMISH PROJECT. The production, which runs from today, August 14th through August 24th at the Chester Town Hall in Chester, MA, will feature CTC favorite Allison McLemore, star of last season's smash hit production of Tryst.

In this stunning tour-de-force, Allison McLemore (Tryst, Turn of the Screw, The Nibroc Trilogy) plays a host of characters in an Amish community devastated by a terrible tragedy. From a supermarket employee to the gunman, each character comes to life - those caught up in cycles of grief or rage, and those who have a truly unexpected reaction. Jessica Dickey's fictional exploration of the Nickel Mines schoolhouse shooting is a tale of redemption that forges a path of forgiveness and compassion in the aftermath of inexplicable violence.

Associate Artistic Director Daniel Elihu Kramer says, "This is a beautiful play about our capacity for love, and our ability to surprise ourselves. I'm honored to have the chance to work on it, and to collaborate again with Allison. CTC audiences cherish the work they have seen from her, and this will be her most challenging-and compelling-role yet."

"Extraordinary... a remarkable piece of writing," said the New York Times. THE AMISH PROJECT premiered in 2011 to rave reviews and has since been produced around the country and the world. Dickey's other plays include Charles Ives Take Me Home (Susan Blackburn Prize) and Row After Row, which premiered Off-Broadway this winter to critical acclaim. Associate Artistic Director Daniel Elihu Kramer, who has collaborated with McLemore three times (Tryst, The Turn of the Screw, Gulf View Drive), will direct.

Jessica Dickey (Playwright) is an actor and playwright most well-known for The Amish Project, which started at the New York International Fringe Festival, premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, has since been produced all over the world. Other plays include Charles Ives Take Me Home and Row After Row, both nominated for a Susan Blackburn Prize. 2014. As an actor, Jessica's recent appearances include: Hit The Wall at Barrow Street Theatre in NYC, Proof at McCarter, the Broadway production of Wit at Manhattan Theatre Club, Miss Lilly Gets Boned with the Ice Factory/Studio 42, and television shows "The Big C," "Law & Order," and the Lifetime movie Amish Grace

Daniel Elihu Kramer (Director) is Associate Artistic Director at CTC, where his previous directing credits include Tryst, The Swan, The Turn of the Screw, and Gulf View Drive, the third installment of Arlene Hutton's Nibroc Trilogy. Mr. Kramer also wrote the CTC hit Pride@Prejudice, which transferred to Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany in the Fall of 2012. Mr. Kramer was a Founding Artistic Director of Salt Lake Shakespeare, Associate Artistic Director of Spiral Stage, and Assistant to the Artistic Director of Circle Repertory Theatre. Awards include an Elliott Norton Award for Outstanding Production for A Midsummer Night's Dream at Boston Theatre Works, and Critics Circle awards for Best Production and Best Direction for The Pillowman at the Contemporary American Theatre Company. He is Chair of the Theatre Department at Smith College.

Allison McLemore returns to Chester Theatre Company for a fourth season. Previously at CTC: The Nibroc Trilogy, Turn of the Screw, and Tryst. Other credits include: Off-Broadway: Rutherford and Son and The Madras House at The Mint; Nora and The Dybbuk at Marvell Repertory Theatre. Regional: Nicholas Nickelby at Orlando Shakespeare Theatre; The Philadelphia Story and Dracula at The Pioneer Theatre Company; A Christmas Carol at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Last Train to Nibroc at Peterborough Players; The Underpants at The Olney Theatre; Cyrano at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival; Three Sisters, Othello, and Jane Eyre at Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre; A Day in the Death of Joe Egg at Shaker Bridge Theatre; Pygmalion (Denver Post Ovation Award) at Creede Repertory Theatre.

Tickets are available on CTC's website: www.chestertheatre.org, or by phone at 1­800­595­4TIX. To receive a brochure, contact the CTC office at 413­354­7770. CTC performances take place at Chester's Historic Town Hall, 15 Middlefield Road, Chester, MA. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 8:00pm, with matinees Thursdays and Sundays at 2:00pm. Tickets are $30 for weekday performances (Wed­Fri), $35 for weekend (Sat & Sun). Student, Chester Resident, and Saturday Night Rush tickets available; group rates for 10 or more are also available. For further information visit CTC's website at: www.chestertheatre.org.

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