Franklin Stage Company Announces Leadership Transition and 2017 Summer Season

The Franklin Stage Company, Delaware County's renowned classical summer theater, announces the departure of longtime Executive Artistic Director, Carmela Marner. Ms. Marner, whose parents, Gene and Carole Marner, were among the original founders of FSC in 1997, notified supporters of her decision in a recent letter: "It has been my great honor to steer FSC and fulfill its dual mission to provide innovative professional theater and to restore and maintain our extraordinary home, Chapel Hall."

In light of Ms. Marner's decision, the FSC Board has decided that the show will go on. Board member and long-time FSC actor/director Patricia Buckley, along with recent FSC show director Leslie Noble, will helm the transition as Interim Artistic Directors. "We're indebted to Carmela for her stewardship and honored to have the Board's support as we navigate this transition," said Buckley.

"We're also looking forward to bringing an excitingly diverse mix of theater to Franklin," added Noble. The season includes recent Off-Broadway production Cry Havoc!, a captivating tour de force, written and performed by actor and veteran Stephan Wolfert, that weaves Shakespeare's war speeches into a deeply personal account of his own journey through battle and healing; a staged reading with music of Nikolai Gogol's classic satire, The Government Inspector, in a biting new adaptation by Oded Gross; the outrageous Doktor Kaboom, an over-the-top German physicist who travels the world thrilling adults and children alike with an explosive comedic style and a passion for science that knows no bounds. Also on the roster, Orson Welles/Shylock by Matt Chiorini, billed as a "docu-fantasy radio play" about the great actor's many troubled attempts to play one of Shakespeare's most complex characters; and an award-winning piece, Magdalen, about a young inmate of the notorious Irish laundries, written and performed by Erin Layton. Rounding out the season is an FSC production of The Price, Arthur Miller's masterpiece about two brothers' confrontation as they come to terms with their family's past.

The season will open July 1st from 5 pm-7 pm with a gallery exhibit, The Dramatic Gesture: Paintings of David Byrd, by the former Delaware County resident whose iconic drawings, sculpture and watercolors have been exhibited in galleries across the US. Later in the season, FSC will present the work of well-know artist Lisbeth Firmin.

The Franklin Stage Company season will run from July 1 through September 3 at Chapel Hall, 25 Institute Street in Franklin, NY. Please note all evening shows have a new curtain time of 7:30 pm. Free admission. General Seating. For reservations, visit www.franklinstagecompany.org or call 607-829-3700.