Bristol Riverside Theatre Gets WORKING, November 1-20

Bristol Riverside Theatre presents WORKING based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book and featuring songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), and James Taylor running November 1-20. Directed by Keith Baker, the ensemble cast features Demetria Joyce Bailey, Philip Chaffin, Laura Giknis, Tamar Greene, Jenny Lee Stern, and Kevin Toniazzo-Naughton.

Previews begin Tuesday, November 1 with opening night on Thursday, November 3. Performances run Wednesday through Sunday with a single Tuesday preview until November 20. Tickets start at $44, with discounts for students, groups and military personnel. Tickets are available by visiting brtstage.org or calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100. Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

Nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Score, Working celebrates our search for meaning and satisfaction in the daily grind. This down-to-earth yet elevating musical is woven from funny and poignant interviews of twenty-six real American workers including a schoolteacher, millworker, waitress, mason, and stay-at-home mom, who all share not only their daily routines, but their hopes and aspirations as well.

Keith Baker (Director) has directed more than 40 productions for BRT including Man of La Mancha and Rumors last season, Lost in Yonkers,Ragtime (nominated for nine Barrymore Awards), Gypsy starring Tovah Feldshuh, Chicago (nominated for six Barrymore Awards), The Balkan Women (winner of a Barrymore Award for Outstanding New Play), The Dresser (nominated for a Barrymore Award for Best Director of a Play) and Dear World (nominated for three Barrymore Awards). As an actor he starred in BRT's 2015-2016 season productions of Mountain: The Journey of Justice Douglas and The Language Archive and also appeared in productions of An Enemy of the People, Deathtrap, Inherit the Wind, Barrymore, A Raw Space, Old Wicked Songs, Defiance, Proof, Hamlet, A Little Night Music, Arsenic and Old Lace, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. Baker has been nominated eleven times for the prestigious Carbonell Awards, for which he was twice the recipient for Best Actor. Prior to coming to BRT, Baker was Artistic Director for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and the Florida Repertory Theatre.

Demetria Joyce Bailey last appeared at BRT in Gypsy and has been a frequent presence at the summer and holiday musicales. She has also been featured locally in Chicago and Wings The Musical at Media Theatre, Comes Love at Passage Theatre, Passing Strange at 11th Hour Theatre Company, and Sparkle and Cooley High both at New Freedom Theatre. Her television credits include principal roles in House of Cards and The Wire and Hack.

Philip Chaffin is a sixteen-year veteran of BRT, having made his debut with the company in Brigadoon. He made his Broadway debut in the world premiere of King David and has since appeared at City Center's Encores in Sweet Adeline, Goodspeed Opera House in Houdini and Virginia Music Theatre in Ballroom. When he's not performing, he runs the record label PS Classics, which celebrates the Great American Songbook; the label has received eight Grammy nominations, and Chaffin himself has received an additional two, for producing the Broadway cast recordings of Sondheim on Sondheim and Follies. His recently released fourth solo album, Somethin' Real Special (The Songs of Dorothy Fields), graced several "year's best" lists.

Laura Giknis has appeared at BRT in Little Shop of Horrors which earned her a Barrymore nomination for Best Actress, An Enemy of the People, Steel Magnolias, and Up. Other regional credits include Sister Act, High Society, Hairspray and Grease at the Walnut Street Theatre; Women in Jep at Arden Theatre Company; The Three Musketeers and Fallow at People's Light & Theatre Company; and Reefer Madness and Little Shop of Horrors at 11th Hour Theatre Company.

Tamar Greene appeared as Booker T. Washington in BRT's production of Ragtime. Earlier this season, Greene performed in the NY Philharmonic Orchestra's production of Show Boat at Lincoln Center, to be broadcast on PBS later this season. Featured in the First National Tour of The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, he has been a frequent guest at Oswego Opera Theater, Rochester Lyric Opera, and Eastman Opera Theater.

Jenny Lee Stern was seen on Broadway in Rocky and A Christmas Story and in the national tour of Jersey Boys. Off-Broadway she appeared in Forbidden Broadway: Alive and Kicking and in her solo cabaret at Town Hall, Feinstein's, Birdland, Lincoln Center, and 54 Below. Regionally she has performed in Always Patsy Cline, Godspell, Lobby Hero and West Side Story at the Walnut Street Theatre; Suessical and Cats at Media Theatre; The Great American Trailer Park Xmas Musical at Montgomery Theatre; and Grease at Bucks County Playhouse. She has co-starred on The Sopranos and The Mysteries of Laura.

Kevin Toniazzo-Naughton has been a frequent guest at Pennsylvania Centre Stage in Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Guys & Dolls, Good People and Dogfight and at Gretna Theatre in Camelot, Moon Over Buffalo, Tarzan, and It Shoulda Been You. He has also locally appeared at Walnut Street Theatre in A Christmas Story and at Act II Playhouse in Kiss Me Kate.

BRT's 30th anniversary season continues with Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Urhy on January 24-February 12, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's Jesus Christ Superstar on March 21-April 16 and Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution on May 9-28.

Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintains a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 68 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by Theatre Philadelphia. In addition to its mainstage productions, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community, with such programs as children's theatre, community concerts and exhibitions of local visual arts. Currently under the direction of Artistic Director Keith Baker, Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson, and Managing Director Anne Kohn, BRT continues its 30th anniversary season. For information, visit www.brtstage.org

PREVIEWS: Tuesday, November 1 at 7:30PM

Wednesday, November 2 at7:30PM

OPENING: Thursday, November 3 at 7:30PM

PERFORMANCES: Wednesday matinee at 2:00 PM on November 9 and 16

Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM on November 9 and 16

Thursday evening at 7:30 PM on November 3, 10 and 17

Friday evening at 8:00 PM on November 4, 11 and 18

Saturday matinee at 2:00 PM on November 5, 12 and 19

Saturday evening at 8:00 PM on November 5, 12 and 19

Sunday matinee at 3:00 PM on November 6, 13 and 20

CLOSING PERFORMANCE: Sunday, November 20 at 3:00 PM

LOCATION: Bristol Riverside Theatre

120 Radcliffe Street, Bristol, PA 19007

TICKET PRICES: Tickets start at $44

Student and military discounts available

TICKETS AVAILABLE AT: Bristol Riverside Theatre, 120 Radcliffe Street

Monday-Friday 9:15AM - 4:45PM

215-785-0100 or online at brtstage.org

SPECIAL EVENTS:
Friday Festival on Friday, November 4 at 7 PM. Enjoy beer courtesy of Cold Spring Beverages and appetizers courtesy of The Borough Pub, then hear a guest speaker discuss the show

Wine Down Wednesday on November 9 at 6:30 PM. A great way to wind down midweek with crudites, dessert, and wine, compliments of Got Wine?.

Thirsty Thursday on November 17 at 6:30 PM. Enjoy beer courtesy of Broken Goblet Brewing Co. with snacks courtesy of Dog & Bull Brew & Music House and Philly Style Soft Pretzel.

Theatre Theology on November 20. Join us for a spirted post-show discussion on the religious themes and issues in the show.

Book: From the book by Studs Terkel adapted by Stephen Schwartz and Nina Faso

With additional contributions by Gordon Greenberg

Songs: Craig Carnelia, Micki Grant, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead, Stephen Schwartz, and James Taylor

Directed by: Keith Baker

Cast: Demetria Joyce Bailey, Philip Chaffin, Laura Giknis, Tamar Greene, Jenny Lee Stern, Kevin Toniazzo-Naughton

Creative Team: Scenic Designer - Andrew Deppen

Lighting Designer - John Hoey

Costume Designer - Linda Bee Stockton

Sound Designer - Liz Atkinson

For ticket information: Bristol Riverside Theatre at 215-785-0100

For press information: Debbie Fleischman at 215-735-7356

Nominated for six Tony Awards, including Best Score, Working features songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Wicked), and James Taylor. Based on Studs Terkel's best-selling book, Working celebrates our search for meaning and satisfaction in the daily grind. This down-to-earth yet elevating musical is woven from funny and poignant interviews of twenty-six real American workers including a schoolteacher, millworker, waitress, mason, and stay-at-home mom, who all share not only their daily routines, but their hopes and aspirations as well.

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