Bristol Riverside Theatre Presents MOUNTAIN, Now thru 11/22

From the rights of the individual against government and corporate power, to advocacy for First Amendment rights, Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas scaled great heights on behalf of the individual and the natural environment. Bristol Riverside Theatre continues its Mainstage Season with Mountain: The Journey of Justice Douglas by Douglas Scott about this judicial giant running tonight, November 3, through November 22. Directed by Susan D. Atkinson, the cast features Keith Baker as Douglas with Kenneth Boys and Sandy York playing multiple supporting characters.

Previews begin Tuesday, November 3 with opening night on Thursday, November 5. Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until November 22. Tickets start at $32, 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.

William O. Douglas was one of the most accomplished and controversial justices ever to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, sitting on the Supreme Court for 36 years (longer than any other Justice). From his childhood in the Cascade Mountains to his accomplishments as a Yale law professor, chairman of the SEC, and as a defender of civil liberties, personal privacy, and the wilderness, he spent life on the edge as an outspoken maverick. But, as he lays on his deathbed, Douglas struggles to find the meaning of his life. Were the sacrifices-his fight against poverty and sickness as a youth, his failures as husband and father-worth making?

"In this day of fractionalized politics, and stories of invasions of privacy or corporate greed, William Douglas' philosophies and landmark decisions have contemporary resonance. This play explores his impact on our history while showing us the flawed man responsible for the legend," said Susan D. Atkinson.

Susan D. Atkinson (Director) theatrical career spans 40 years of directing and producing on both the east and west coasts. She has directed well over 150 plays and musicals in her career, including world and area premieres from such playwrights and composers as Doug Katsoras, Mark St. Germain, Jon Marans, Alan Knee and Larry Gatlin. For BRT, Atkinson directed this season's opening production Bus Stop and last season's smash hit Always...Patsy Cline, as well as Enemy of the People, Tuesdays with Morrie, Little Shop of Horrors, What A Glorious Feeling, Inherit The Wind, The Good Earth, Wintertime, Irma La Douce, Alive and Well, The Price, 110 in the Shade, A Sunbeam, Inspecting Carol, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Arsenic and Old Lace, A Little Night Music, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Holiday, Talley's Folly, Proof, Little Women, A Raw Space and Steel Magnolias. In 1998, Atkinson directed Larry Gatlin's Texas Flyer both here at BRT and at Theatre Under the Stars in Houston, Texas.

Keith Baker (William Douglas) comes back to the role he performed at BRT fifteen years ago. He has since appeared in numerous productions, including Inherit the Wind, Deathtrap, A Raw Space, Barrymore, Defiance, Proof, Hamlet, A Little Night Music, Arsenic and Old Lace, A Moon for the Misbegotten, and Old Wicked Songs, for which he won a Broadway World Award. He started his career at Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway and later appeared as Jeeves in the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Alan Ayckbourn musical By Jeeves at the Goodspeed Opera House, and has sung leading roles with Houston Grand Opera, Western Opera Theatre, and Kentucky Opera Association. On television he appeared in two episodes of Stella for Comedy Central. Baker has been nominated eleven times for the prestigious Carbonell Awards, for which he was twice the recipient for Best Actor. He has directed more than 40 productions for BRT including 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).

Kenneth Boys (Man) reprises the role he previously created at BRT where he last appeared as Kenny in Laughter on the 23rd Floor. Off-Broadway he has appeared at Circle Rep in A New Approach to Human Sacrifice, and at the Lucile Lortel Theatre in Walk Two Moons, Anne of Green Gables, and Sarah, Plain and Tall, which he premiered at Dallas Theatre Center. His other regional credits include productions at Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, and Paper Mill Playhouse.

Sandy York (Woman) makes her BRT debut with this production. Off-Broadway she has been a frequent guest with Prospect Theatre, Pulse Ensemble Theatre and Pan Asian Rep. Regionally she has appeared at Cape May Stage in Time Stands Still, McCarter Theatre in The House of Bernarda Alba, Trinity Rep in A Christmas Carol and Marat/Sade and Shadowland Theatre in both Unnecessary Farce and Black Comedy. On television, York had a recurring role on One Life to Live.

Mountain: The Journey of Justice Douglas brings together the creative team of BRT veterans set designer Charlie Morgan, costume designer Linda Bee Stockton, and sound designer Elizabeth Atkinson And introduces lighting designer Joe Doran and projection designer Caite Kemp.

BRT's Mainstage season continues with The Language Archive by Julia Cho (January 26 - February 14), Rumors by Neil Simon (March 22 - April 17) and Man of La Mancha starring Robert Newman with music by Mitch Leigh, lyrics by Joe Darion, and book by Dale Wasserman (May 10 -June 5).

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 81 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 Jameson Gilpatrick, BRT is currently in its 29th season. For information, visit www.brtstage.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.