Bucks County Playhouse's Storytelling Performances Return With NPR Host

Back by popular demand, Bucks County Playhouse's Storytelling Series returns this fall with a new name and expanded opportunities to hear and see renowned storytellers live on stage. The opening performance of the new WORD OF MOUTH series features two special guests: Ophira Eisenberg (host of NPR's "Ask Me Another") and Jeff Rudell (recent contestant on the new NBC hit show, "Making It" with Amy Poelher and Nick Offerman). The fall series features monthly performances, two shows a night at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on September 28, October 19, November 16 and December 14. Tickets range in price from $25 for a single ticket to $80 for the four-show package and are available at BucksCountyPlayhouse.org or (215) 862-2121.

WORD OF MOUTH performances feature an evening of stories that take place in the intimate cabaret setting of Lambertville Hall, 57 Bridge Street, Lambertville, NJ. The performers are some of the best storytellers from New York City's most popular storytelling shows including The Moth, The Liar Show, R!SK, Cake and many more.

Here's the schedule:

September 28 -- WORD OF MOUTH: WHOOPS will feature storytellers Ophira Eisenberg (host of NPR's "Ask Me Another"), Peter Aguero, Gastor Amonte and Jeff Rudell (recent contestant on the new NBC hit show, "Making It" with Amy Poelher and Nick Offerman). Professional storyteller and Playhouse Director of Education, Michaela Murphy, will host the evening. She explains this first storytelling performance and says, "This season kicks off with stories about mishaps, misreads, miscommunications or that 20-year-old mistake that keeps you awake at night for the next 50 years. It could be that banana peel you didn't see or that purchase that seemed like a great idea at the time. Oopsie daisy! This storytelling night makes public those stories that we'd rather forget".

October 19 -- WORD OF MOUTH: BOO -- The evening will include stories that are spine tingling, hair raising, adrenaline inducing, that make the audience want to run for life or embrace a loved one. It will be full of surprises, frights or something haunting.

November 16 -- WORD OF MOUTH: GIFTS -- This evening's topic will be widely interpreted with stories that may be about gifts: given or received, costly or free or maybe a distinctive strength or talent. The evening embraces stories conjuring memories of receiving all kinds of gifts, some that bring wonder why and curiosity, others that make the receiver feel like jumping for joy because it was exactly what was needed.

December 14 -- WORD OF MOUTH: TIME -- The ticking clock...too little time...arriving just in the knick of it or being right on, "Time" explores stories about moving too fast, standing still, being late, missing out or the discovery that being exactly at the right place, at the right time.

Please visit www.buckscountyplayhouse.org for additional casting information for the WORD OF MOUTH fall series and upcoming spring performances.

The Bucks County Playhouse Education Program serves children, teens and adults through a wide variety of programs. It aims to achieve artistic excellence in a community-centered environment, in continuation of the Playhouse's rich history of mentoring young people, contributing to the American theatre canon and fostering relationships between established and emerging artists.

Founded in 1939, Bucks County Playhouse has grown beyond its reputation as one of the Country's most famous summer theaters to a year-round Equity performing arts center in New Hope, PA. In addition to Main Stage programming, the Playhouse serves more than 1,500 children, teens and adults through a variety of education programs ranging from fully produced Youth Company shows, weekly and monthly master classes, Word of Mouth storytelling performances, and the Annual Student Theater Festival.

Bucks County Playhouse is a year-round, nonprofit theatre that has grown to a $6 million producing organization with an annual audience of over 73,000. Founded in 1939 in a converted 1790 gristmill, Bucks County Playhouse quickly became "the most famous summer theatre in America," featuring a roster of American theatrical royalty including Helen Hayes, George S. Kaufman, Moss Hart, Kitty Carlisle, Angela Lansbury, Alan Alda, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, and Liza Minnelli and remained in continuous operation until 2010. In 2012, the Playhouse re-opened after a multi-million-dollar restoration thanks to the efforts of the Bridge Street Foundation, the nonprofit family foundation of Kevin and Sherri Daugherty, and Broadway producer Jed Bernstein. This fall, the Playhouse will unveil a 4,000 square foot Delaware-river facing restaurant and bar expansion.

In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser and Robyn Goodman took the helm of the Playhouse, and today the Playhouse has reclaimed its reputation of attracting Broadway and Hollywood artists. Its productions of "Company" starring Justin Guarini, and William Finn's "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" were named by Wall Street Journal to its "Best of Theatre" list for 2015. The 2017 season included four world premieres and audiences grew by over 34%. Box office record has been repeatedly broken by Signature Productions of "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story," "Steel Magnolias" directed by Marsha Mason, and "Guys & Dolls," "42nd Street" and "Million Dollar Quartet" directed by Hunter Foster. The creative teams who come to create new productions at the Playhouse are among the most talented artists working in the professional theatre today and relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford, and Jessica Walter began their careers.

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