Photo Flash: First Look at THE TAVERN at Bridge Street Theatre

Bridge Street Theatre, the newest addition to the Hudson VAlley Theatre scene, presents the first full production on its new Mainstage -- George M. Cohan's classic, "The Tavern." Performances run now through September 25 at 44 West Bridge Street in Catskill. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

On a dark and stormy night, a rural inn shelters an unlikely assortment of oddball characters, including a mysterious vagabond who's almost certainly not what he appears to be. Kane Prestenback* stars as The Vagabond with a cast that features some of the finest local talent in the Hudson Valley region - Gabriel James, Lindsay Cahill, Robert Ragaini, Art Skopinsky Louise Pillai, David Smilow, Elisabeth Henry, Alexandra Doggette, Brett Owen, Keith Mueller, and Parker Cross.

When "The Tavern" originally premiered in 1920, it utterly baffled a majority of the critics. But the play was championed by Robert Benchley who called it "the biggest night in my theatergoing career, for it marked the birth of something new on the stage, a gorgeous insanity from which it is to be hoped the drama as an institution will never recover" and Dorothy Parker, who proclaimed it "an entertainment sent from Heaven, via Mr. Cohan". The play went on to become one of Cohan's greatest theatrical successes, one in which he toured the provinces for years once the original production had closed. Steven Patterson, who helms the current production, previously directed the play to great acclaim to open the 1977 Summer Season of the Lexington Conservatory Theatre in Lexington, NY. Now, in 2016, Bridge Street Theatre is delighted to share this unique celebration of the joy of theatre devised by a titan of 20th century American entertainment with a whole new audience in a gorgeous new performance venue.

Regular tickets are $20, $10 for students age 21 and under, and can be pre-purchased at BrownPaperTickets.com or by calling 800-838-3006. Tickets will also be on sale at the door one half hour prior to each performance on a space available basis. The theatre is located at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY. For more information, visit the theatre online at BridgeSt.org or call 518-943-3818.

Photos by John Sowle

Robert Ragaini (Freeman) and Gabriel James (Zach) in The Tavern.

Robert Ragaini (Freeman) and Gabriel James (Zach) in The Tavern.

Louise Pillai (Violet) and Kane Prestenback (The Vagabond) in The Tavern.

Kane Prestenback, Louise Pillai (Violet) (The Vagabond), Robert Ragaini (Freeman) and Gabriel James (Zach) in The Tavern.

Alexandra Doggette (Governor's Daughter) and Kane Prestenback (The Vagabond) in The Tavern.

David Smilov (Governor), Louise Pillai (Violet), Alexandra Doggette (Governor's Daughter) and Elisabeth Henry (Governor's Wife) in The Tavern.

Keith Mueller (Sheriff), Kane Prestenback (The Vagabond), Robert Ragaini (Freeman), Art Skopinsky (Willum) and Gabriel James (Zach) in The Tavern.

Louise Pillai (Violet) and Art Skopinsky (Willum) in The Tavern.