The World Premiere of ASTORIA: PART ONE Opens at The Armory

Peter Stark's best-selling book ASTORIA: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson's Lost Pacific Empire; A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival comes to life on stage at The Armory in a world premiere production directed and adapted by Chris Coleman. Astoria: Part One is the first world premiere to debut as part of the company's new Northwest Stories series. This monumental piece of American history will be told in two parts over the course of two seasons. Astoria: Part One opens on the U.S. Bank Main Stage on January 20, with preview performances beginning January 14, and regular performances running through February 12. Select dates will be presented as part of Fertile Ground, a city-wide festival of new works held every January in Portland. Astoria: Part Two will be presented during the 2017-2018 season.

"Every once in a blue moon you run across a story that catches your imagination and won't let go," said Chris Coleman. "Astoria was that for me: riveting, shocking, surprising, transforming. I became obsessed with it, and knew that we had to find a way to do it. The will to survive against impossible odds is a major thread in the story, as is the question of what makes a worthy leader. The current economic landscape of the American theater presses us to produce smaller and smaller work, so it's a thrill to have found the support to bring a work of this scope and moment to Portland."

Tickets for Astoria: Part One are on sale now and prices start at $25. Tickets may be purchased at www.pcs.org,503.445.3700, or in-person from the box office (128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR). Rush tickets are $20. Students and patrons who are 30 or younger can purchase $30 tickets in premium seating areas. Showtimes areTuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (excluding January 29, and February 7 and 12); Saturday and Sundaymatinees at 2 p.m. (excluding January 14, 15, and 21, and February 4); and Thursday matinees at noon (excludingJanuary 19). Astoria: Part One contains mature content and language and is recommended for ages 14 and up. More information at https://www.pcs.org/astoria. Tickets for Astoria: Part Two will go on sale in January as part of the 2017-2018 season.

At a time when the edge of American settlement barely reached beyond the Appalachian Mountains, two visionaries - President Thomas Jefferson and millionaire John Jacob Astor - foresaw that one day the Pacific would dominate world trade as much as the Atlantic did in their day. Just two years after the Lewis and Clark Expedition concluded in 1806, Jefferson and Astor turned their sights westward once again. Thus began one of history's most dramatic but largely forgotten turning points in the conquest of the North American continent. Astoria: Part One covers the journey to Astoria;Astoria: Part Two is about the establishment of Astoria, the first permanent United States settlement on the West Coast.

The harrowing dual journey - one over land, one by sea - will be told with a cast of sixteen actors playing roughly five roles apiece. Making their company debuts are Jeremy Aggers (Edward Foote, ALLIANCE THEATRE); F. Tyler Burnet (national tours of Sister Act and West Side Story); Brandon Contreras (Cuba Libre, Artists Repertory Theatre); Nick Ferrucci (A View from the Bridge, Oregon Shakespeare Festival); Michael Morrow Hammack (Adrift in Macao, Broadway Rose Theatre Company); Christopher Hirsh (God of Love, Oscar-winning short film); Ben Rosenblatt (Waiting for Godot, Commencez! International Beckett Festival); Christopher Salazar (Thieves, The Public Theater); DeLanna Studi (August: Osage County, First National Tour); Shaun Taylor-Corbett (In the Heights and Sonny on Broadway); and Benjamin Tissell (Fly By Night, Broadway Rose Theatre Company). Returning to The Armory are Shawn Fagan (Our Town); Gavin Hoffman (last seen in Great Expectations); Chris Murray and Leif Norby (last seen in The Oregon Trail); and Ben Newman (JAW: A Playwrights Festival, 2014-2016).

The 80+ characters depicted in the play pose an exciting challenge for dialect coach Mary McDonald-Lewis, who has been tasked with helping the actors tackle the many dialects and languages needed to properly tell this story. There are four languages and 11 dialects and accents in total. Dialects include rustic American, Canadian Scottish, German, French Canadian, Irish and British English. Languages include French, as well as Arikara, Iowa and Shoshone. To properly represent the Arikara language, McDonald-Lewis has been working with a direct descendant of one of the people featured in the story: the Arikara Chief that helped the Overland Party during their journey in 1810. McDonald-Lewis also happens to be a descendant of two characters central to this story: Thomas Jefferson and Meriwether Lewis.

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