Chenango River Theatre Presents INCIDENT AT OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP

A memory play in the vein of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, Chenango River Theatre is proud to produce the world premiere of the unforgettable comedy Incident At Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

Told through the memory of 19-year-old Linda O'Shea, this new comedy brings to life the story of the O'Sheas, a cash-challenged, Irish-Catholic family just trying to get through 1973. Linda is attempting to re-enact for the audience the most turbulent day of her life, her own, very personal Saturday Night Massacre...but her family insists on interrupting to tell their side of the story.

It was a time of old school living. No Facebook, no tweets, no texting, no Skype. A time when public ridicule in a close-knit, hermetically sealed Catholic parish was the ultimate nightmare. And of course, there's Grandma, ruling the household from her upstairs bedroom, banging her baseball bat on the floor to get attention, and service, from the rest of the family. When Linda's parents leave it to her to tell her younger sister about the birds and the bees, the bawdy conversation is somehow overheard by the parish priest...and Father Lovett is not amused. He sets out to confront the family about "the corruption of their eldest daughter's soul".

SOLD OUT: Friday, July 12 is sold out (except for Donor Level Subscribers).

Taking the lead role is Annie Winneg, last seen at CRT in 2018's Papermaker. Annie was also played a key role in the last world premiere CRT produced (Flying, 2017). Well know area actress Heidi Weeks plays Aunt Terri. Heidi is a professional actor and member of Actor's Equity Association, the union for professional actors and has worked with CRT over the last 12 years, since returning home to live in Binghamton.

New to area audiences will be AEA member Mike Boland and Lisa Nago. Mike plays the father in the family, and doubles up by also playing the parish priest Father Lovett and the inimitable gossip Betty Heckenbach. Lisa Nago is from NYC and plays the 13 year old Becky. Rounding out the cast is Equity member Traci Crouch from Los Angeles, playing the mother Jo. Traci appeared in both The Last Cigar and Last Gas over the last couple of seasons

Author Katie Forgette spent most of her professional life as an actor. At the Seattle Repertory Theatre she was privileged to work with such nationally known directors and playwrights as: Doug Hughes, Bill Irwin, Mark O'Donnell, Dan Sullivan, John Patrick Shanley, Liviu Ciulei, Lillian Garrett-Groag, and Jon Robin Baitz. At the Rep she appeared in Inspecting Carol, An Ideal Husband, Private Eyes, All in the Timing, Scapin, Dancing at Lughnasa, Buying Time, A Flaw in the Ointment, Harvey, The Miser, Six Characters in Search of an Author, End of the Day, Love Diatribe, and Long Day's Journey into Night. Her scripts have been produced at The Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, People's Light, Park Square Theatre, Barter Theatre, Austin Playhouse, Cortland Repertory Theatre, The Dorset Theatre Festival, Vertigo Theatre, Taproot Theatre, Centenary Stage, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, and Theatre 40. She lives in a tiny, brick house in Seattle with her favorite husband, actor R. Hamilton Wright, and a big, gray cat named Eddie.

Directing the production is Drew Kahl, who has directed several of CRT's biggest comedy hits previously, including Miracle on South Division Street, Heroes, and last season's record-setting run of Ripcord. Bill Lelbach is designing the kitchen setting, with costume and lighting design by resident designers Barbara Kahl and Julie Duro respectively.

Incident...Perpetual Help is Co-Produced by an Anonymous Donor, with financial support from The Raymond Corporation. The 2019 Season is sponsored by Empire Toyota of Oneonta.

Running July 5 - 28, tickets are $25 for all performances, except Saturday evenings are $27. The fastest, easiest way to buy tickets is at: www.chenangorivertheatre.org. Tickets can also be purchased by calling the 24-hour box office line: 607-656-8499.

Performances are Thu/Fri/Sat at 7:30, Sundays at 2pm. New this season is a Saturday matinee on the opening weekends only (Sat, July 6, 2pm).

FREE STUDENT TICKETS! Also new this season is free tickets to high school and full-time college students (22 and under). Up to 8 seats are available for any performance (except opening nights and Sundays). This initiative is designed to remove cost as a barrier for younger audiences being able to experience professional theatre.

Chenango River Theatre's intimate, air-conditioned 99 seat theatre is just 15 minutes north of Binghamton at 991 State Highway 12, Greene, NY. CRT operates under annual contract with Actors' Equity Association, the national association for professional actors and stage managers in the United States.

CRT's 2019 season is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

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