Photos: First Look at THE RIVER BRIDE at American Players Theatre

American Players Theatre (APT) will open two more plays this week. In the Touchstone Theatre, The River Bride, directed by returning APT artist Robert Ramirez, will hold its official opening night on Sunday, June 25, 2022, at 2:00 pm following two previews. In the Hill Theatre, Sense and Sensibility, directed by Marti Lyons, will also open Sunday, June 25, 2022, at 8:00 pm.

Romantic, lush and magical, The River Bride is the first show of APT's 43rd season to take place in the Touchstone Theatre, the indoor venue completed in 2009. The River Bride has a small, powerful ensemble of six actors, including Core Company member Melisa Pereyra. Ronald Román-Meléndez, Eduardo Xavier Curley-Carrillo, Triney Sandoval, and Erica Cruz Hernández return to APT, welcoming newcomer Gabriela Castillo to complete the cast.

Austen's work has only been performed once before at APT (Pride and Prejudice in the 2015 season), and Sense and Sensibility was originally slated for the 2020 season. So the organization is thrilled to welcome audiences to this romance of the Regency Era. With a large ensemble cast featuring Tracy Michelle Arnold, Isabelle Bushue, Sarah Day, Ty Fanning, Tim Gittings, Jamal James, Brian Mani, Samantha Newcomb, Nancy Rodriguez, Laura Rook and Marcus Truschinski, the stage is set to bring the story of the Dashwood sisters to life.

Artistic Director Brenda DeVita said of the new arrivals, "The River Bride is a play that we've been wanting to produce for a long time now. It was a Winter Words reading in 2018, and we knew right away it was something special - beautiful and romantic and just exquisitely written. The playwright, Marisela Treviño Orta is a genius with poetic language and family dynamics. And our director, the lovely Robert Ramirez, was the Voice & Text Director on the original production at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Triney Sandoval was in the original cast of the play. So it's all come together in a way that feels kind of perfect."

DeVita continued, "When we produced our first Austen play, Pride and Prejudice in 2015, the enthusiasm was kind of amazing. I mean, who doesn't love Jane Austen? Her storytelling is so graceful, and her grasp of human emotions, and the deals we make with ourselves to balance happiness with our own sense of duty, and identity, and self-worth is all so relatable. And at the same time it's so lush and romantic. This adaptation really focuses in on the relationship between these sisters, these women, and their love for each other, without sidelining their feelings for the men in their lives. I could not be more excited to share these very romantic, and very different, plays with our amazing audience. It's going to be a good weekend."

The River Bride will play through September 30, 2022. Sense and Sensibility will play through October 9, 2022. For more information on tickets, please visit the APT website at www.americanplayers.org, or call the APT box office at (608) 588-2361.

Photo Credit: Liz Lauren

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