Harbor Stage Company's THE BILLINGSGATE PROJECT to Open 7/18

Beginning Thursday, July 18th, the Harbor Stage Company will present the second show of their sophomore season with an original piece by founding ensemble member Brenda Withers (The Ding Dongs), The Billingsgate Project. Created in conjunction with this year's 250th Anniversary of Wellfleet's founding, the play offers a surreal, compassionate look at a town's attempts to recreate the past and forecast the future.

Featuring the onstage talents of Harbor Stage Company founding members Jonathan Fielding, Stacy Fischer, playwright Withers, and Artistic Director Robert Kropf, The Billingsgate Project follows a team of amateur historians as they try to piece together an evening of historical entertainment. Focusing on the early 20th century dissolution of the once-thriving colony on Wellfleet's Billingsgate Island, the play will explore our culture's relationship with nostalgia, narrative, and authenticity, and consider the side effects that historical attachments can have on our contemporary lives.

Developed with generous grants from the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod and the Wellfleet Cultural Council, The Billingsgate Project is the Harbor Stage Company's first full production of an original play, made possible by the remarkable support of Show Sponsor Kathleen Nagle of Kinlin Grover Real Estate and 2013 Season Sponsor WOMR Community Radio. The creative team is rounded out by Harbor Resident Stage Manager Alaina Sciascia, Technical Director Victor Johnson, and Lighting Designer John Malinowski.

Opening weekend performances of The Billingsgate Project will run Thursday, July 18h through Saturday, July 20th at 7:30pm, with a bonus matinee Saturday the 20th at 2pm. The final three weeks of the production will run Wednesdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, through August 10th (special early 5pm curtain on the production's last day, to allow patrons to take part in the Wellfleet 250th Committee's town-wide celebration and fireworks). In keeping with the company's mission to present great plays at fair prices for the right reason, single tickets to The Billingsgate Project are set at $20, and the group will once again host a pay-what-you-can night on the First Friday of the production's run (July 19th at 7:30pm).

Following The Billingsgate Project and the Harbor's current offering, The Seagull-- praised by critics as "great theater from the gut" and "a play you wished would never end, and running through Saturday, July 13th--, the Harbor Stage Company will complete its second season with Sam Shepard's Fool for Love in a production directed by Jeff Zinn. Subscription packages for the company's full three-play season are available for purchase through July 13th (3 plays for $55). More information on tickets, donations, and individual ensemble members can be found at www.harborstage.org.