PPT to Present International Collaboration IN GOD'S OWN COUNTRY

Piedmont Players Theatre kicks off its new season with an international theatre project celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation.

A drama by Olaf Hörbe, based on the historical novel by Eberhard Görner in an English translation by Jane Taubert, In God's Own Country features music by Paul Heller.

This is a production of the Piedmont Players and the Landesbühnen Sachsen theater companies in cooperation with St. John's Lutheran Church of Salisbury, NC.

Performances: October 12-14 & 18-21, 2017 at 7:30pm; Sunday Matinee: October 15, 2017 at 2:30pm. Ticket on sale now. Call 704-633-5471 or purchase online at PiedmontPlayers.com. Tickets: $20, Groups of 20 or more: $25. *In God's Own Country is part of the 2017-2018 PPT Season and therefore is included for Season Ticket holders.

"In God's Own Country" not only tells the story of Mühlenberg's struggle to establish the Lutheran Church in America, but also focuses on the plight of those immigrants who came to the colonies in search of religious and political freedom. Flight and expulsion, indentured servitude and the search for asylum, civic responsibility as well as cultural and religious tolerance are central themes. Community players and large choruses will augment the narrative of this vibrant drama.

Heinrich (Henry) Mühlenberg studied languages, music and theology in the German cities Göttingen and Halle. Ordained as a Lutheran minister in Leipzig, he accepted a call in 1741 to administer to fledgling Lutheran congregations in the English Colonies on the American Continent. Mühlenberg joined the scattered and directionless churches in and around Philadelphia and forged them into an American denomination that could effectively serve the flood of European immigrants in the latter part of the eighteenth century. Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg is known today as the "patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America".

Composer Paul Heller has been commissioned with producing an original score for the stage drama. Musical partner of this production is the internationally acclaimed vocal quintet Ensemble Nobiles. The a cappella ensemble successfully collaborates with renowned artists such as the composers Manfred Schlenker, Volker Bräutigam, David Hamilton and Jeremy Rawson. In 2014 Ensemble Nobiles was honored by the German Music Council and included in the Federal Selection of Concerts for Young Artists. The vocalists have won numerous prizes at national and international vocal competitions.

The Landesbühnen Sachsen is the professional travelling repertory theater of the German province of Saxony with music theater, ballet and drama ensembles. Over 200 employees - among them the theater's own props, scenery and costume departments, ticketing, marketing, sales and administration offices - are responsible for organizing, preparing and performing more than 600 performances each year in Saxony, Middle Germany and other European venues, such as Denmark, Austria, Poland, England, Cuba and Kosovo.

Playwright Olaf Hörbe has adapted Eberhard Görner's historical Novel "In Gottes eigenem Land" for the theater stage, creating a dramatic version which will involve a cast of professional actors and musicians supported by numerous community players from the region. Olaf Hörbe, a native of Berlin, studied acting and theater arts in Leipzig and Dresden, before joining the ensemble of the Landesbühnen Sachsen in 1977. In addition to playing roles such as William Tell, King Lear, Mephisto and Othello, Olaf has developed diverse literary works for the stage, among them the tales of Karl May and Grimmelshausen's „Simplicius Simplicissimus". Eberhard Görner is a prominent screenplay writer responsible for numerous film and teleVision Productions. His historical and biographical novels, such as "In Gottes eigenem Land", have become bestsellers on the German market.

The bi-lingual production "In God's Own Country" (German/English) will be directed by Damian Cruden, Artistic Director of York Theatre Royal since 1997. Among his many productions in York are: To Kill a Mocking Bird, The Wind in the Willows, The Railway Children, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Les Liaisons Dangereuses and Educating Rita. Damian's stage production "Railway Children" was awarded the coveted Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment in 2011.

Receive two (2) FREE tickets to In God's Own Country at The Meroney Theater when you book an overnight stay at a Rowan County hotel or B&B. For group bookings of 10 or more room nights, receive a $100 Visa gift card. Sign up for this incredible deal here: visitsalisburync.com/packages. The In God's Own Country Stay & Play package is an exclusive, limited offer only available until 5 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2017, or while supplies last.