Ancram Opera House's 2023 Summer Season to Include THE LUCKY FEW Concert, CRYSTAL RADIO SESSIONS, and More

Co-Directors Jeff Mousseau and Paul Ricciardi have announced the 2023 spring/summer season at the Ancram Opera House in Ancram, NY.

"Through bold, inventive theater productions and vibrant community storytelling, we create opportunities for our rural region to connect through the performing arts," Ricciardi said. "For our 2023 season, we are taking inspiration from our community's bountiful farms by nurturing the creation and growth of new innovative performances being made by visionary artists."

"This year, many of our presentations are more accessible than ever with tiered ticket pricing. When ordering, choose between student, sponsored, general, and pay-it-forward rates. For die-hard fans, our season pass means you catch all the action and save, too," Mousseau explained.

Our beloved storytelling series, REAL PEOPLE REAL STORIES returns on Saturday, June 24 at 7:30pm at the Hilltop Barn in Roeliff Jansen Park in Hillsdale. Everyone has a story to tell. With each edition of Real People, local residents share their stories with the community. Tickets $25 general, $15 students.

CRYSTAL RADIO SESSIONS, curated by Ashley Mayne, showcases fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction and personal essays by established and emerging writers from the Hudson Valley. This summer's edition The Yellow, by Samantha Hunt, and Sugar Bath, by Harris Lahti, will be read by professional actors at the Hilltop Barn on July 15 at 7:30pm. Tickets $25 general, $15 students.

Our SUMMER PLAY LAB (SPL) returns for a fourth year. AOH's annual residency to support the creation of bold new performance features public work-in-progress showings, free community workshops, and discussions.

On Sunday, May 14 at 4 pm AOH patrons will be the first to see You Don't Know the Lonely One, a work-in-progress created by David Cale, Dael Orlandersmith, and Matthew Dean Marsh and directed by Robert Falls. This non-narrative, multidisciplinary work draws influence from paintings and albums to create a collaborative portrait of aloneness in an ever-shifting world. You Don't Know the Lonely One uses monologues, poems, stories and songs to explore what it means to be alone.

The second showing of the Play Lab series, scheduled for Sunday, July 9 at 4 pm, will feature work by a selected artist from our region, to be announced soon.

On Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 pm join songwriters and performers Todd Almond and Kate Douglas for a special concert celebration of their new musical THE LUCKY FEW at the Circa 1799 Barn in Ancramdale.

In The Lucky Few it's New Year's Eve, 1959, an explosive moment in American history. The U.S. has entered the space race; Lenny Bruce appeared on NBC for the first time; Miles Davis began recording Kind of Blue; and somewhere in South Dakota, Jane is making music nobody has ever heard before.

Tickets are available in four tiers: Pay-It-Forward $60, General $40, Sponsored $20, and Student $15

For two weekends in August AOH presents an all new edition of our outdoor theatrical triptych launched: THE PLEIN AIR PLAYS. Three site-specific new works will be presented as a roving performance with audiences traveling by car to each secret location to experience these self-contained plays in environments that enhance their stories.

For this special theatrical event, AOH is commissioning two new works: one written by Mukta Phatak, featuring ABUZZAR FARRUKH, seen as part of AOH's Crystal Radio Sessions and award-winning INVASION! in 2022; and another by New York-based cabaret artist, writer, and actor SALTY BRINE. The event will also premier Summer, a new work by playwright and poet BARBARA WIECHMANN, previously at AOH as the author of Snow Queen in 2019.

The Plein Air Plays will be presented on August 10-13 and 17-20. Performances 5 & 6 pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and at 4, 5 & 6 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.. Tickets are available in four tiers: Pay-It-Forward $60, General $40, Sponsored $20, and Student $15.

For tickets and more information on the 2023 Season visit www.ancramoperahouse.org. Don't miss your chance to be among the first to experience a flourishing season of new work. Get your season pass or individual tickets now.

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2023 SEASON AT-A-GLANCE

Summer Play Lab Showings

at AOH, 1330 County Route 7, Ancram 12502

You Don't Know the Lonely One created by David Cale, Dael Orlandersmith, and Matthew Dean Marsh. Directed by Robert Falls.

Sun, May 14 at 4p

Local Artist(s) TBA

Sun, July 9 at 4p

Tickets: $20 general, $15 students

Real People Real Stories

Sat, June 24 at 7:30pm

at Hilltop Barn / Roeliff Jansen Park, 9140 NY State Route 22, Hillsdale 12529

Tickets: $25 general, $15 students.

Crystal Radio Sessions

The Yellow by Samantha Hunt

Sugar Bath by Harris Lahti

Sat, July 15 at 7:30pm

at Hilltop Barn / Roeliff Jansen Park, 9140 NY State Route 22, Hillsdale 12529

Tickets: $25 general, $15 students

Todd Almond and Kate Douglas in Concert: The Lucky Few

Saturday, July 22 at 7:30pm

at Circa 1799 Barn, 105 Simons Road, Ancramdale 12503

Tickets: Pay-It-Forward $60, General $40, Sponsored $20, and Student $15

The Plein Air Plays 2.0

August 10-13 and 17-20

5 & 6 pm on Thursdays & Fridays

4, 5 & 6 pm on Saturdays & Sundays.

at locations TBA in Ancram, NY

Tickets: Pay-It-Forward $60, General $40, Sponsored $20, and Student $15

BIOS

Jeffrey Mousseau is co-director of the Ancram Opera House and an award-winning director With AOH, he has directed Invasion! (Berkshire Theatre Awards, Outstanding Ensemble); An Iliad, which he re-staging at Shakespeare & Co. last June (Berkshire Theatre Awards, Outstanding Solo Performance); The Snow Queen; Aunt Leaf, subsequently presented in Aguascalientes, Mexico; Homebody (Berkshire Theatre Awards, Outstanding Solo Performance); We're Gonna Die; and In Praise of Elephants. His directing credits include a residency at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His work has been seen at HERE in NYC; Olana, where he conceived and directed a site-specific new work; Hudson Opera House; and Stageworks/Hudson. As Artistic Director of the Elliot Norton and IRNE award-winning Coyote Theater in Boston, he directed many productions over the course of his ten-year tenure. Guest artist/lecturer: Brandeis University, Emerson College, The University at Albany, Siena College.

Paul Ricciardi is co-director of the Ancram Opera House and is the creator and Director of Ancram Opera House's Real People Real Stories. He is an accomplished Voice and Text coach and is the resident Vocal Coach at Ancram Opera House, and has coached productions with local, regional and NYC theaters including WAM, Stageworks, America-in-Play, Playhouse Creatures, and countless university theater productions. Paul is a Designated Linklater Voice teacher and trained extensively with Kristin Linklater. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards including a Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Martha Boshen Porter Artist Grant, the Kennedy Center National Teaching Artist Award, and the Kennedy Center Gold Medallion. Paul is Professor of Theatre Arts at the City University of New York-Kingsborough Community College, and earned his MFA in Acting at Trinity Repertory Company.

Todd Almond is an acclaimed performer, songwriter, and playwright. His recent performance on Broadway in Girl from the North Country was called "stunning" by The Washington Post, and "roof-raising, uplifting, and invigorating" by Hollywood Reporter. His musical The Odyssey was hailed as "brash, funny and heart-stirring" by The New York Times. His theater piece Kansas City Choir Boy was called "awesome, slyly punk rock" by Rolling Stone. Todd Almond is known for his singular songwriting in addition to his work as an accomplished performer. He recently toured the U.S. in his original musical Kansas City Choir Boy starring alongside rock icon Courtney Love, and starred in three of his original musicals at the famed Delacorte Theater in Central Park (The Tempest, The Winter's Tale, and The Odyssey). His musical Girlfriend - based on the Matthew Sweet album of the same title - is a perennial favorite for theater companies around the country, and he is currently collaborating with producer David Foster on a new, original musical. He has previously collaborated with Sarah Ruhl (Melancholy Play: A Chamber Musical), Jenny Schwartz (Iowa), Laura Benanti (In Constant Search for the Right Kind of Attention), Sherie Rene Scott and Norbert Leo Butz ("Twohander"), Kelli O'Hara ("Live at Carnegie Hall"), and Andrew Rannells ("Live from Lincoln Center"). As a composer and orchestrator, Almond has written and arranged music for Noises Off! on Broadway, Iowa at Playwrights Horizons, f-ing A at Signature Theatre, and How to Transcend a Happy Marriage at Lincoln Center Theater, Kelli O'Hara Live at Carnegie Hall, and the recent film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa's Hello Again. Other New York acting credits include Stage Kiss by Sarah Ruhl at Playwrights Horizons, People are Wrong at the Vineyard, Piece of Meat opposite Sherie Rene Scott, and Law and Order: SVU. Currently, Todd can also be seen starring in Gossip Girl on HBO Max. As a musical director, Almond tours with Laura Benanti and Judy Kuhn, and recently made his PBS debut with Andrew Rannells, Live From Lincoln Center.

Salty Brine is a New York-based cabaret artist, writer, and actor. He is the creative force behind The Living Record Collection, a series of cabaret performances which weave together iconic, popular albums with major cultural touchstones from classic literature to opera and beyond. Additional performance credits: The Elementary Spacetime Show (Are Nova, FringeArts); Clown Bar (Pipeline Theatre Company, The Box); Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge (Here). www.thesaltiestbrine.com

David Cale is the writer and performer of ten solo works, most recently his solo musical memoir We're Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, for which he wrote the book, lyrics, co-composed the music with Matthew Dean Marsh, and starred. The show premiered at The Goodman Theatre, Chicago, under the direction of Robert Falls, opened in NYC at The Public Theater and was the recipient of a NY Times Critic's Pick, a 2020 Obie Award, 2020 Outer Critics Circle Award, 2020 Lucille Lortel Award Nomination, 2020 Drama Desk Award Nomination, and David and Matthew received the 2019 Jeff Award for New Musical. David's solo play Harry Clarke, starring Billy Crudup, premiered at the Vineyard Theatre and transferred to the Minetta Lane Theatre in a production produced and recorded by Audible, receiving a NY Times Critic's Pick and a 2018 Lucille Lortel Award. Earlier works for which he was both writer and performer include The History of Kisses, Palomino, A Likely S

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