Jamie Ross & Jonathan C. Kaplan Star in TriArts Sharon Playhouse's TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE, Now thru 7/6

TriArts Sharon Playhouse, under the leadership of Artistic Director John Simpkins and Managing Director Justin Ball, presents Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie from July 3-6 on Stage 2 in the Bok Gallery.

The production stars Tony nominee Jonathan C. Kaplan (Falsettos, The Diary of Anne Frank) and Broadway veteran Jamie Ross (42ndStreet, La Cage aux Folles). Warner Shook who directed the Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Kentucky Cycle directs.

Based on the best-selling memoir, Tuesdays with Morrie is co-authored by Mitch Albom and Jeffrey Hatcher (Three Viewings). The play is an autobiographical story of Mitch Albom, an accomplished sports journalist driven solely by his career, and Morrie Schwartz, his former college professor who is battling Lou Gehrig's Disease. Based on one the top-selling memoirs of all time, critics have hailed the stage adaptation as more humorous, more shattering, and equally as powerful as its literary counterpart.

The production is designed by Caleb Levengood (sets), Jamie Roderick (lights), Michele Eden Humphrey (costumes), and Brad Berridge (sound). Geoff Josselson is casting director. Katie Marchant is production stage manager.

Published in 1997, Tuesdays with Morrie was a constant on The New York Times bestseller list for more than four years with more than five million copies sold. Jack Lemmon and Hank Azaria starred in the 1999 Emmy-winning television film presented by Oprah Winfrey. Following a summer production at NY Stage and Film in 2002, Tuesdays with Morrie opened Off-Broadway at the Minetta Lane Theatre. Directed by Davis Esbjornson, the production starred Alvin Epstein and Jon Tenney.

Jamie Ross (Morrie) has appeared in over 15 Broadway shows, including Beauty and the Beast; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; 1776; Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; Gypsy; La Cage Aux Folles; Woman of the Yea; 42nd Street and Oh, Coward. National Tours: Beauty and the Beast; Jekyll and Hyde; Phantom; Victor/Victoria; Damn Yankees (U.S. and London); and the Paris production of Hello, Dolly. Off-Broadway he has appeared in The Rothschild's; Lucy's Lapses; Approaching Zanziba; and The Penny Friend. He has appeared in numerous TV shows and films including the MGM classic How The West Was Won. He recently appeared in the pre-Broadway production of The Nutty Professor, directed by Jerry Lewis.

Jonathan C. Kaplan Broadway: Falsettos (Tony nom., Theatre World Award), Diary of Anne Frank Off-Broadway: Forever Dusty, Rags, The Loman Family Picnic National Tour: The Graduate Regional: Romeo & Juliet, The Comedy of Errors (The Acting Company), Twelve Angry Men (George Street Playhouse), The Liar (Denver Center), Nobody, Fall of the House (Alabama Shakespeare Festival), Betrayal(Hangar Theatre), A Little Night Music, These Shining Lives (Baltimore CenterStage), 1001 (CATF), Take Me Out (Gallery Players),Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Two River Theater Company) Film: Learning to Drive, What Just Happened?, Life with Mikey. Television:Hostages, Elementary, The Good Wife, Law & Order: SVU, CI, Six Degrees, Babylon 5.

TriArts Sharon Playhouse is located on 49 Amenia Road (Rte. 343). Performances of Tuesday with Morrie will take place at Stage 2 in the Bok Gallery. Showtimes are tomorrow, July 3 at 7pm, July 4 at 8pm, July 5 at 3pm & 8pm, and July 6 at 5:30pm. Tickets are $35. For more information about the theatre and 2014 season, visit www.triarts.net or call (860) 364-SHOW (7469).