Bristol Riverside Theatre's 2012-2013 Season to Include OLEANNA, INHERIT THE WIND and More

Bristol Riverside Theatre today announced its 2012-2013 mainstage season featuring Oleanna by David Mamet, What a Glorious Feeling written by Jay Berkow and based on the film Singin' in the Rain, the world premiere of Faery Tales by Allan Knee, Gilbert & Sullivan's popular operetta The Pirates of Penzance, and Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.

            "This past year we celebrated our 25^th Anniversary in glorious fashion. I'm so thrilled that we had 20% more subscribers join us in this year that included an expansion to 225 performances, including our highest grossing show ever – Gypsy with Tovah Feldshuh," said Susan D. Atkinson. "It's been a whirlwind adventure and I'm so excited that we're going to be able to build on all of that in this next season that includes some fantastic plays – a world premiere that speaks to the reason that I got into theatre in the first place, a classic drama as powerful as any, and two musicals that just couldn't be more fun."

            The season kicks off with Oleanna by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet on September 25-October 14.  In this powerful drama academic power and sexual politics collide. Carol, a frustrated college student, charges her professor with sexual harassment after a private meeting in his office. When Carol reveals she has filed criminal charges of attempted rape, the enraged professor's world begins to unravel. This riveting play forces audiences to question who is the victim, and who the perpetrator.

            Next up (October 30-November 18) is the musical What A Glorious Feeling with book by Jay Berkow What A Glorious Feeling captures the charming and poignant story behind the making of Singin' in the Rain, one of the best movie musicals of all time.  Bringing to life the tempestuous love triangle between Gene Kelly, Co-Director Stanley Donen and their dance captain, Jeanne Coyne,this musical celebrates the genius of this highly charged collaboration while exploring the emotional complexity of their lives behind the camera.

            BRT begins the new year on January 29-February 17 with the world premiere of Faery Tales by Allan Knee, a play developed at BRT's America Rising series this year.   This is the true story of The Cottingley Fairies. In 1917 Elsie photographed fairies in her backyard. Examined by hosts of experts, and deemed to be real, the photos found their way to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (author of the Sherlock Holmes mysteries). In this telling, Doyle sent the photos to his good friend Harry Houdini, pitting the two men, each famous for their own brand of bringing the fantastic to life, against each other in a war over reality and magic.

            Hilarity abounds in Gilbert & Sullivan's rollicking farce The Pirates of Penzance, up next on March 19-April 28.  This comic operetta about sentimental Pirates, bumbling policemen, dim-witted youth, wide-eyed daughters, and an eccentric Major-General, all morally bound to the often ridiculous-dictates of honor and duty, is full of wonderful music, comical paradox and sharp wit.

            The season concludes (May 21-June 9) with the classic drama Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee.   Inherit the Wind portrays the famous and dramatic "Scopes Monkey Trial," a battle between two lawyers in the summer of 1925 in Tennessee. It wasn't so much evolution or creationism that were on trial, but the very nature of freedom. This dynamic courtroom controversy pits two intellectual giants against each other as they fight for their deepest held beliefs.

BRT continues to enhance the theater experience with a series of add-on events during the run of each show including: post show discussions (first Tuesday and Wednesday of each run), Opening Night post-performance party (first Thursday of each run), Friday Festival, (first Friday of each run) featuring guest speakers providing background information on the play or the production; Wine-Down Wednesday (second Wednesday of each run) featuring complimentary pre-show wine, crudité, and dessert; and in its second season Cold Springs Beverages' Thirsty Thursday (third Thursday of each run) featuring unique beer selections from Cold Spring Beverages and food compliments of The Temperance House.

Subscriptions for the 2012-2013 Season are currently available starting at only $106 by by visiting brtstage.org or calling the Box Office at 215-785-0100.  Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintained a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 66 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater 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, Amy Kaissar, BRT begins its 26th season.  For information, visit www.brtstage.org.

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