EUDORA WELTY - MISSISSIPPI STORIES to Open at Theatre Row This Summer

Summoners Ensemble Theatre, the team behind A Christmas Carol at the Merchant's House featuring John Kevin Jones, is pleased to announce that Eudora Welty - Mississippi Stories, adapted from the works of Eudora Welty by Voices of the South and Gloria Baxter, will debut in New York this summer at the Studio Theatre at Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street between 9th and 10th Avenues).

Eudora Welty - Mississippi Stories will play Thursday, July 28 through Sunday, August 7, for eight performances only - Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:00pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm

Eudora Welty - Mississippi Stories, features Welty's short story "Why I Live at the P.O." and her memoir "One Writer's Beginnings," and is performed by Jenny Odle Madden and Alice Rainey Berry, co-founders of Voices of the South, a non-profit theatre company based in Memphis, Tennessee.

As Voices of the South, University of Memphis alumni Jenny Odle Madden and Alice Rainey Berry, inspired by their professor Gloria Baxter, have since its debut at the 1997 Edinburgh Fringe Festival toured Mississippi Stories both nationally and regionally. Productions have played Jackson Hole, Wyoming; Columbus, Ohio; Evanston, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; West Memphis, Arkansas; and Oxford, Mississippi to critical acclaim.

"Four Stars! Voices of the South are just as exotic, and will call to you as compellingly as any from Eastern Europe, South America or Africa. Alice Berry and Jenny Madden have made a career of lovingly adapting for their own performance famous Southern short stories and famous Southern writers' reminiscences. They are a pleasure to watch, always charmingly amusing, never cacophonously zany. The effect is electric."

The Scotsman, Edinburgh, Scotland

"In the hands of Berry and Madden, [these stories] achieve a remarkable vitality and visual vibrancy. [Voices of the South] pile line upon line with impeccable timing to weave the tight plots into delightful entertainment."

One Writer's Beginnings is Eudora Welty's much praised memoir which she wrote later in life. The first chapter entitled Listening takes a lyrical look into the author's childhood, exploring memory, family, and how a life-long love of words led her towards a writer's life.

"Why I Live at the P.O." is among the best loved of Eudora Welty's acclaimed short stories. Welty's wit, whimsy, and extraordinary ear for southern banter are the centerpiece of this Voices of the South classic. Peppered with wonderfully eccentric characters, this comic short story follows the trials and tribulations of Sister as she recounts her mad-capped quest for liberation from her family.

All tickets are $35, and are available at www.telecharge.com, by calling 212-239-6200, or in person at the Theatre Row Box Office (410 West 42nd Street) Monday through Saturday from noon - 6:00PM and Sunday from noon - 3:00PM.

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