THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN, OTHER DESERT CITIES & More Set for Chenango River Theatre's 2015 Season

Chenango River Theatre's 2015 season features four regional premieres for Binghamton area audiences - four dynamic shows never before seen in this area.

Opening the season on May 22 is The Velocity of Autumn, featured on Broadway in 2014 with star Estelle Parsons winning the Tony for Best Actress. What happens when you lock an elderly woman and her estranged son in a brownstone full of Molotov cocktails? She's going out with a bang! A wickedly funny and wonderfully touching discovery of the fragility and ferocity of life, the plot swirls around Alexandra, a79-year-old artist in a showdown with her family over where she'll spend her remaining years. In Alexandra's corner are her wit, her volcanic passion, and the fact that she's barricaded herself in her Brooklyn brownstone with enough Molotov cocktails to take out the block. Written by Eric Coble, Velocity is co-produced by NBT Bank, Esteban Fuertes and Alan Foster, and Pete & Karen Raymond.

Running July 2 - 26 will be Woody Guthrie's American Song, an exuberant musical celebration of America based on the life, times and writing of one of America's revered singer songwriters. Bound for Glory, Nine Hundred Miles, This Land Is Your Land. We all know them and we've all sung them - songs about the open road, fighting for one's rights, and the beauty of nature. Now meet the man that brought them all to life. As he looked for work and his next meal, Woody sang the stories of a whole nation determined to survive the Great Depression. Pull up a chair and join with us in discovering and celebrating the great American who gave our country its voice. Conceived and adapted by Peter Glazer, American Song is co-produced by IBM.

Many of us know Jeff Daniels as a wonderful and versatile film actor - but did you know he's also an accomplished comic writer? His deer camp comedy, Escanaba in da Moonlight, has been a hit across the country and particularly enjoyed in areas familiar with men heading off to deer camp to bring home the venison. When the Soady clan reunites for the opening day of deer season at the family's Upper Peninsula camp, thirty-five-year-old Reuben brings with him the infamous reputation of being the oldest Soady in the history of the Soadys never to bag a buck. In a hunting story to beat all hunting stories, Escanaba spins a hilarious tale of humor, horror and heart as Reuben goes to any and all lengths to remove himself from the wrong end of the family record book. Running Aug. 14 - Sept. 6, Escanaba is being co-produced by the Raymond Corporation and Jim & Debbie Dyal.

Closing the season is the 2012 Pulitzer Prize finalist Other Desert Cities. This searing comedy-drama, with banter that dazzles, was described by the New York Times as "one of the most satisfying grown-up plays of the decade." After six years away, prodigal daughter Brooke returns to her Palm Springs desert home to celebrate the holidays and announce plans to publish her childhood memoir - complete with revelations of deep family secrets. Retired ambassador dad, savvy mom, rehabbing aunt and ne'er-do-well brother team up to try and stop the publication, and the joys of the family reunion slowly unravel with a truly surprising twist of events. Artistic Director Bill Lelbach, who will direct the piece, calls it one of the best scripts he's read in the last decade. Author Jon Robin Baitz is the principal writer for the TV mini series The Slap and was the creator/writer of Brothers and Sisters. Other Desert Cities runs Sept. 25 - Oct. 11 and is co-produced by Davidson Fox & Co. and pressconnects.com.

Season tickets start as low as $70 to see all four of the shows in the 2015 season - the season is sponsored by Empire Toyota of Oneonta. Season brochures will be mailed out in early April. To request a brochure, email info@chenangorivertheatre.org or call 656-8499 and leave your name, address and phone.

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 is the greater Binghamton area's only professional non-profit theatre company under annual contract with Actors' Equity Association, the national association for professional actors and stage managers in the United States - the same actors you see on television, in film and at major theatres across the country.

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