Photo Preview: ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BIG GAY DANCE PARTY

THE PLAY

"Come on people. I saved the freaking union."

A small town elementary school teacher outs Abraham Lincoln in the fourth grade Christmas pageant. The hilarious anarchy, marked by interludes of campy dances, is cleverly contained in a spontaneous structure wherein the audience votes each night on how the play will unfold. The fun and farcical surface story belies the play's insightful reflections on American history and identity.

When elementary school professor Harmony outs Abraham Lincoln at the Christmas pageant she is immediately fired, arrested, and put on trial. The audience witnesses the story of the trial from three points of view: the prosecutor, the defense, and a New York-based Pulitzer Prize-winning gay journalist who is covering the story. In each performance a random audience member chooses the order in which the story is revealed. The differing points of view allow the audience to see the characters from different perspectives, exposing an abundance of secrets and unleashing hysterical political mayhem. The show is a wild ride full of laughs where, ultimately, it is our own point of view that is on trial.

Director Kristin Wold said, "Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party is a delightful play that plunges us head-long into our prejudices and perceptions about sexuality, morality, power and freedom. How public or private do we choose to be about what is most important to us? What are the consequences of either choice? How far will we go to do what we think is right or necessary? When our most basic beliefs are challenged, how do we respond? Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party is a rollicking ride through these and many other provocative questions."

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Kristin Wold (Director) teaches acting and movement in the BFA and MFA Acting programs at the University of Connecticut. Her directing credits include Thin Air: Tales from a Revolution, North Shore Fish, Marcus is Walking, Judevine, Brutality of Fact and Loose Knit (Connecticut Repertory Theatre) and Indian Blood (Mixed Company). Movement and Dance Coaching credits include The Skin of Our Teeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream (Connecticut Repertory Theatre) and Twelfth Night, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare and Company). Since 1987, Ms. Wold has been a member of Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. Her acting roles there include Emilia in Othello, Sarah Harding in Ice Glen, Cordelia in King Lear, Ariel in The Tempest, Viola in Twelfth Night, Isabella in Measure For Measure and Helen Pettigrew in Berkeley Square. She teaches movement and text for Shakespeare & Company's renowned professional actor training programs and has worked extensively in the company's Education program.

The Design team includes: Jennifer Corcoran, Scenic Designer; Matt Daurio, Lighting Designer; Cassandra Beaver, Costume Designer; Jack Nardi, Sound Designer.

THE CAST

The play features undergraduate acting students: Alison Barton as Mom/Harmony, Sarah Murdoch Billard as Tina/Violet, Scott Cooke as Jerry/Bailiff, Tom Foran as Tom/Walter, Harrison Greene as Lloyd/Timmy, Seth Koproski as Sparky/Principal, Rachel Rosado as Esmerelda, Tiffany Vinters as Regina, Noah Weintraub as Anton/Judge.

Alison Barton (Mom/Harmony) is making her debut in CRT's Studio Works Series. Over the summer, Alison attended the British American Dramatic Academy in Oxford, England, where she studied under John Barton and MarK Wing-Davey. She is a junior BFA acting major at UConn. She was last seen in CRT's production of Hair. Previous credits: The Skin of Our Teeth, Clytemnestra in Electra, Sarah in Guys and Dolls, Charlie Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Angel in Celebration, and Becky Thatcher in Tom Sawyer.

Sarah Murdoch Billard (Tina/Violet) is a senior in the B.F.A. Acting Program. Her most recent credits include: Julie, Who Wants to Be Financially Responsible? (CPTV); Neucrate, Icarus (CRT); Gladys Antrobus,The Skin of Our Teeth (CRT); Fatima/Teenage Girl, Pentecost (CRT);Nicole, The Wrestling Season (Moravian College); Donna, A Bird of Prey (Pennsylvania Youth Theatre). Recently, she has done voice-over work for UConn's Healthy Environments for Children.

Scott Cooke (Jerry/Bailiff) is a Senior BFA Actor. Past credits include: UConn - Icarus (Icarus), performances at ACT: Arts at the Capitol Theater as Paul Newman in Rewind: 80 Years behind the Silver Screen and Mark in ACT's production of Shadow Box. He recently debuted at CRT as the Lifeguard in The Skin of our Teeth.

Tom Foran (Tom/Walter) is a third-year BFA actor from East Hartford, CT. He has performed with CRT before in Pericles, The Skin Of Our Teeth, and A Man For All Seasons. Over the summer, he wrote, created, performed, booked, advertised and toured in an original punk rock masked guerrilla puppet musical farce, Apocalypse Lost, in Connecticut, Chicago, and Milwaukee. He did this with the troupe he co-founded, Blunt Objects Theatre.

Harrison Greene (Lloyd/Timmy) is a second year undergraduate in the BFA Acting program and this is his debut in a CRT show. Favorite past credits include: Metamorphoses (Midas), Of Mice and Men (Candy), To Kill a Mockingbird (Bob Ewell), and The Odd Couple (Oscar).

Seth Koproski (Sparky/Principal) is a junior acting BFA candidate, also studying puppetry. He appeared most recently in Icarus (Storyteller, others) and Spring Awakening (Ernst, others) at CRT and in the original touring show Apocalypse Lost (Pierrot) this summer. Other plays include Othello (Soldier, others) at the Stratford Summer Theater Festival and Voices in Conflict (Cpl Sean Huze) at the Public and Vineyard Theatres in New York.

Rachel Rosado (Esmerelda) is a Senior BFA acting major. Credits include: Hair (Ronny, Dance Captain), Skin of Our Teeth (Esmerelda the Fortune Teller), Threepenny Opera (Lucy Brown) and Thin Air (Carmen) at CRT; The Lost Colony (Queen Elizabeth I) at Historic Waterside Theatre; Doubt (Sister James), Sarah, Plain and Tall (Maggie), and Kiss Me Kate at Hope Summer Repertory Theatre; and many others.

Tiffany Vinters (Regina) makes her debut in Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party. She was in the company of both Bye Bye Birdie and Once on this Island. However, this is her first lead role in a professional production.

Noah Weintraub (Anton/Judge) is a fourth year BFA acting candidate. Past credits include: SRT - How to Succeed... (Finch), The Rocky Horror Show Live (Riff Raff); CRT/UConn - Hair (Woof), Spring Awakening (Hansy), Pentecost (Derek, Second Soldier), and The Threepenny Opera (Ensemble, u/s Filch). This past summer, Noah was member of The Acting Company at the Seacoast Repertory Theater. He has also worked as an acting intern at Hope Summer Repertory Theater and appeared in Closer Than Ever, Kiss Me Kate, and Sarah Plain and Tall.

Please call 860-486-4226 for tickets or for more information. Please call the box office or visit for specific show dates and times because performance schedules vary and are subject to change.

Evening performances start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, and at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Matinee performances start at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices range from $11- $29.

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