THE GLASS MENAGERIE, FAITH HEALER & More Set for Three Oaks Theater Festival's Inaugural Season

Co-founders John Stoops, Tim Evans, and Marc Grapey proudly announce the inaugural season of Three Oaks Theater Festival, a new summer theater festival that will bring three limited-engagement runs of highly-acclaimed, professional Chicago-based productions and a World Premiere to audiences in Harbor Country, Michigan. Three Oaks Theater Festival is presented in association with Harbor Arts with special thanks to The Pokagon Fund.

For its first season, Three Oaks Theater Festival will present one-night-only engagements of Blair Thomas & Co.'s The Selfish Giant, a unique take on the Oscar Wilde classic featuring puppetry by Blair Thomas and music by Michael Smith; Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co's acclaimed production of the Tennessee Williams classicThe Glass Menagerie, directed by Hans Fleischmann (who also stars as Tom), and featuring Walter Briggs, Maggie Cain and Joanne Dubach, with an original score by Daniel Knox; TurnAround Theatre's production of Brian Friel's Faith Healer, directed by J.R. Sullivan and featuring Brad Armacost, Lia D. Mortensen andSi Osborne; and Complicated, a world premiere musical from Poi Dog Pondering.

Three Oaks is a community within Harbor Country, Michigan, that is rich in art galleries, restaurants and summer leisure activities. Twenty-five percent of the Three Oaks' population is second homeowners with a permanent residence in Chicago with a median age of 39 years old, making Three Oaks an ideal destination for vacationers seeking culture and relaxation. For visitors to the area, a number of hotels, bed and breakfasts, and family-friendly cabin and housing rentals are available to people of all ages.

"As a founder of the Festival, I am excited to bring some of Chicago's best theaters to the natural beauty and vibrant culture already found in Three Oaks, Michigan," says John Stoops.

Co-founders Tim Evans and Marc Grapey comment, "The inaugural season is bringing some of Chicago's best theater to Three Oaks. We are presenting three highly-acclaimed shows and a world premiere musical by the beloved group Poi Dog Pondering. We hope that these one-night-only performances will add to the cultural traditions of Three Oaks and we welcome all of the residents of Harbor Country to the productions. Since it's only a 75- minute drive from Chicago, we also hope that theater fans in Chicago will come for a weekend to check out all that Harbor Country has to offer."

Three Oaks Theater Festival is presented in association with Harbor Arts, with special thanks to The Pokagon Fund.

The 2013 Three Oaks Theater Festival Season is:

THE SELFISH GIANT
Presented by Blair Thomas & Co.
Puppetry by Blair Thomas
Music by Michael Smith
Saturday, July 6, 2013
1:00pm (EST); 12:00pm (CST)
Recommended for audiences of all ages and best enjoyed by children ages 2-10.
(running time: 45 minutes)
Ticket Price: $15, Children 4 and under are free.

Two Chicago theater icons-Blair Thomas and singer-songwriter Michael Smith-collaborate on this staging of an Oscar Wilde classic. Original puppets and music tell the story of a grumpy old giant who forbids the children in his village from playing in his beautiful garden. After the children are locked out, the trees and flowers refuse to grow and the garden plunges into an eternal winter. Then one morning, the children sneak back into the garden, bringing with them the joyous rebirth of spring.

The Selfish Giant was commissioned by the Chicago Children's Theater and the world premiere was presented by the Chicago Children's Theater in January 2008.

10:00am (EST); 9:00am (CST)

Free puppet workshop with Blair Thomas for all ages.

THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Presented by Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.
By Tennessee Williams
Directed by Hans Fleischmann
Original Score by Daniel Knox
Featuring Walter Briggs (Gentleman Caller), Maggie Cain (Amanda) and Joanne Dubach (Laura) and Hans Fleischmann (Tom)
Saturday, July 20, 2013
8:00pm (EST); 7:00pm (CST)
Ticket Price: $25

Three Oaks Theater Festival presents Mary-Arrchie Theatre Co.'s highly acclaimed production of the Tennessee Williams classic The Glass Menagerie. Directed by Mary-Arrchie ensemble member Hans Fleischmann (who also stars as Tom), the production features the full original cast, including Walter Briggs, Maggie Cain and Joanne Dubach. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, The Glass Menagerie focuses on a man obsessed with regrets from his past. Living on the streets, he navigates an audience through the gritty back-alleys of his imagination. Truth and delusion collide in director Hans Fleishmann's re-imagining of Tennessee Williams' classic memory play.

Highlighted by an original score by Daniel Knox, the production team for The Glass Menagerie also includes Grant Sabin (scenic design), Stefin Sterberl (costume design), Matthew Gawryk (lighting design), Joe Court (sound design), Anna Henson (projection design), Arianna Soloway (props design), Rudy Galvan (assistant director/dramaturg), Andrew Donnelly (stage manager) and Carlo Garcia (producing director).

FAITH HEALER
Presented by TurnAround Theatre
By Brian Friel
Directed by J.R. Sullivan
Featuring Brad Armacost (Teddy), Si Osborne (Frank Hardy) and Lia D. Mortensen (Grace)
Saturday, July 27, 2013
8:00pm (EST); 7:00pm (CST)
Ticket Price: $25

Faith Healer is a dramatic, mysterious and humorous work focusing on the life and times of Frank Hardy (Si Osborne), an itinerant Irish Healer. Uniquely structured, the play is presented in four monologues. The first belongs to Frank, grappling with the mystery of his gift of faith healing. Next is Grace (Lia D. Mortensen), Frank's patient but suffering wife, who knows too well the special magnificence of her husband. Frank's promoter and set-up man, a Cockney named Teddy (Brad Armacost), speaks third. His show business spin on events is both touching and comical. Frank's epilogue brings the play to a startling conclusion. In Faith Healer, Friel shows us the reality of grace, the unfolding of mystery and the healing powers of faith.

Seventeen years ago, Faith Healer, featuring Brad Armacost, Lia D. Mortensen and Si Osborne, directed by J.R. Sullivan was produced in Chicago in an acclaimed, sold-out run at TurnAround and Steppenwolf Theatres. The original team returned to this work earlier this year at The Den Theatre in Wicker Par and is, once again, returning to this beloved play for one night only to bring this acclaimed, not-to-be-missed production to Three Oaks.

A World Premiere Workshop Production
COMPLICATED
Conceived and directed by Brigid Murphy, music and lyrics by Frank Orrall and Poi Dog Pondering
Featuring alternative rock legend Syd Straw, Frank Orrall and members of Poi Dog Pondering as well as puppets by Chicago artist Cynthia VonOrthal
Saturday, August 3, 2013
8:00pm (EST); 7:00pm (CST)
Ticket Price: $35

Complicated is a theatrical hybrid: part rock concert, part traditional book musical. It's a mythic journey about home and your place in the world. Music and lyrics byFrank Orrall and Poi Dog Pondering, book and direction by Brigid Murphy, puppet elements by Cynthia VonOrthal, and special musical guest indie rock diva Syd Straw.

This World Premiere workshop musical is currently in development.

Performances will take place at The Acorn Theater, 107 Generations Drive in Three Oaks, Michigan.

Information and tickets will be available at www.threeoaksfestival.com beginning May 20. Tickets will be available online; at the Acorn Theater box office; or via phone (269-756-3879).

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