Ancram Opera House Announces 2022 Summer Season

Co-Directors Jeff Mousseau and Paul Ricciardi have announced the 2022 summer season at the Ancram Opera House in Ancram, NY.

"We are looking forward to resuming productions throughout the summer at our gem of a theater in the historic hamlet of Ancram, while also enjoying some special al fresco evenings of storytelling and music in this beautiful region we call home," said Paul Ricciardi.

"An eclectic season will lift up voices from the community, and provide moments for connection during these extremely challenging times," Jeff Mousseau added.

The company opens its season this year with the beloved storytelling series, REAL PEOPLE REAL STORIES on Saturday, June 25 at 8 pm at the Hilltop Barn in Roeliff Jansen Park in Hillsdale. Everyone has a story to tell. With each edition of Real People, local residents share their stories with the community. Tickets $25.

Amontillado, a short story by Hugh Sheehy will be read from the Hilltop Barn on July 23 at 8 pm as part of CRYSTAL RADIO SESSIONS: UPSTATE, the local outpost of the New York City reading series devoted to transmitting compelling literary expression through the ether. Tickets $25.

This confessional tale, inspired by Edgar Allen Poe, reminds us that there is no purer feeling than a wish for revenge. A Hudson Valley resident, Sheehy is the author of two collections of short stories: Design Flaw which will be out in November, and The Invisibles, which won the 2012 Flannery O'Connor Award.

The SUMMER PLAY LAB returns for a third year with public work-in-progress showings, free community workshops, and audience discussions.

Initiated during the pandemic as a virtual program, SPL goes in-person this year with onsite residencies for teams of artists making bold new work. This year's program is unique in that previously supported artists have been invited to participate in a second residency so that they can continue to develop their projects.

May 27-29: Tidtaya Sinutoke, Isabella Dawis, and Nana Dakin will showcase new material from their piece, SUNWATCHER, featured in last summer's SPL. A Noh-inspired musical, SUNWATCHER is the story of astronomer Hisako Koyama (1916-1997), intertwined with the ancient Japanese myth of the sun goddess Amaterasu.

July 8-10: Celeste Lecesne returns to expand on their solo performance, POOF!, initially seen as part of last summer's Plein Air Plays. Fairies have always enjoyed a close association with the natural world. But with so much of it under threat from climate change, the fairies are beginning to speak their mind and cast a few spells.

On Saturday, July 30 at 8 pm Married folk-rock duo The Bengsons bring intimate, musical storytelling to the Circa 1799 Barn in Ancramdale for AN EVENING WITH The Bengsons.

Abigail and Shaun Bengson are composers and performers based in NYC and Vermont who have performed across the country and around the world. Their video for The Keep Going Song has been viewed over 4 million times, and three of their singles have been featured on So You Think You Can Dance (FOX). They have received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rogers awards and nominations for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel awards.

AN EVENING WITH The Bengsons will present a collection of their songs in this entertaining concert-style, theatrical memoir. Tickets are $35.

Our summer theatrical offering, INVASION! by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles, is a satirical comedy centered on a name: Abulkasem. What is introduced as an amorphous word of many meanings spirals into a range of potential identities: Abulkasem is an uncle visiting from Lebanon, a renowned theater director, an asylum-seeking apple picker, the world's most dangerous terrorist. In a whirlwind of interconnected vignettes, INVASION! confronts prejudices about identity, race, and language.

"We first encountered this play a few years ago and have been looking for the right moment to produce it," Mousseau explained. "The play examines implicit bias with biting humor, and couldn't be more timely. It furthers our commitment to bringing diverse voices and points of view to the AOH stage. Genre-wise, it's the first social satire that we've ever presented and we're excited about that."

INVASION! will storm the AOH stage August 5-21.

For tickets and more information visit www.ancramoperahouse.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.