A mother's bitterness colors the lives of her two high school-aged daughters in Paul Zindel's 1971 Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds", coming to Catskill's Bridge Street Theatre for eight performances July 6-16. Called "the most compelling work of its kind since Tennessee Williams' 'The Glass Menagerie'", this poignant and lyrical drama will be performed by a cast of five brilliant female actors, led by Bridge Street favorite Roxanne Fay ("Home Fires Burning", "Dream Child", "Upon This Rock") in the role of Beatrice Hunsdorfer.
The original Off-Broadway production of the play opened in April of 1970 and ran for 819 performances, winning not just the Pulitzer, but also the New York Drama Critics' Circle and Obie Awards for Best Play of the Year. A film version was released in 1972, directed by
Paul Newman and starring his wife
JoAnne Woodward, who won the award for Best Actress at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival for her performance. In the following decade, the play was widely produced internationally, regionally, and in countless college and high school productions. Then it seemed to vanish.
"It's a piece I've always loved and one which a great many people of my generation recall with enormous affection," says director
Steven Patterson. "But after its heyday, it just seemed to fall off the radar. One of our missions here at Bridge Street is reviving great but unjustly neglected works and we're so excited to be bringing this one back to the stage where it belongs."
Appearing with
Roxanne Fay in the cast of this production are NYC actress
Kalia Lay as Ruth, regional actress
Doris Seipel as Nanny, and two students from Catskill High School -
Lindsay Cahill as Tillie and
Alexa Powell as Janice Vickery. The production is directed by
Steven Patterson, with sets and lights by John Sowle, costumes by Michelle Rogers, and sound by
Carmen Borgia. The Production Stage Manager is Caedmon Holland.
"The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" will be presented on the Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 2:00pm from July 6-16. The Thursday July 6 preview and the Sunday July 9 matinee are both "Pay-What-You-Will" performances. Advance tickets are available for $22 at BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling
800-838-3006. Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to each performance (on a space available basis) for $25. Students age 21 and under are always $10. The theatre is located at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY. Don't miss this chance to see a neglected masterpiece of American drama restored to the stage.
Events at Bridge Street Theatre are supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature and by Public Funds from the Greene County Legislature through the Cultural Fund administered in Greene County by the Greene County Council on the Arts.
Tickets: Advance tickets available at
http://effect.brownpapertickets.com or by calling
800-838-3006. General Admission $22, $10 for Students age 21 and under
Tickets can also be purchased at the door prior to each performance (on a space available basis) for $25, $10 for Students age 21 and under.
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