Williamston Theater Starts 2018 With a World Premiere

Mid-Michigan's award winning professional theatre company, Williamston Theatre, located at 122 S. Putnam Street in downtown Williamston, starts 2018 with the World Premiere of Our Lady of Poison by Joseph Zettelmaier. Performances begin Thursday, January 25 and run through Sunday, February 25. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, January 9 at Noon.

1659, Rome, Italy. Giulia Tofana and her daughter Girolama are beloved apothecaries, and skilled poisoners. This mother-daughter team run an infamous underground operation to provide unfortunate wives with an escape from untenable marriages. When the young bride of a nobleman requests their help, an unexpected romance blossoms. But that very love threatens to destroy the life Giulia has built for her family. Based on historical events. (Contains Adult Content)

Joseph Zettelmaier is a Michigan playwright and four-time nominee for the Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association Award for best new play for All Childish Things in 2006, Language Lessons in 2007, It Came From Mars in 2010 and Dead Man's Shoes in 2012. He returns to Williamston, which premiered his productions of Flyover USA, It Came from Mars, And the Creek Don't Rise, Ebenezer, Dead Man's Shoes, The Gravedigger, The Decade Dance and Pulp. His plays The Stillness Between Breaths and It Came From Mars were selected to appear in the National New Play Network's Festival of New Plays. He received the Edgerton Foundation New American Play Award in 2009 for It Came From Mars and in 2011 for Dead Man's Shoes. Joseph is an Artistic Associate and Resident Playwright at First Folio Theatre, an At Large Ambassador to the National New Play Network and an adjunct lecturer at Eastern Michigan University and Schoolcraft College, where he teaches Dramatic Composition, Play Production, Stage Management, Stage Combat, and Fundamentals of Acting. He also serves as Executive Director for Roustabout Theatre Troupe.

The cast of Our Lady of Poison consists of two newcomers to the Williamston stage, Janet Hayle and Maeyson Menzel, along with Dani Cochrane, who appeared in the World Premiere of Summer Retreat in 2016. Shannon Ferrante makes her Williamston Theatre directing debut. The production team includes Scenic Design by Kirk Domer (1984, Summer Retreat), Lighting Design by Shannon Schweitzer (Beau Jest, Pulp), Costume Design by Karen Kangas-Preston (Taking Shakespeare, A Painted Window), Sound Design by Julia Garlotte (Pulp, The Decade Dance) and Props Design by Michelle Raymond (Beau Jest, The Taming). The Stage Manager is Nan Luchini (Murder for Two, Summer Retreat).

Performances for Our Lady of Poison will run from January 25 through February 25 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at eight o'clock and Sunday afternoons at two o'clock. Starting February 3rd three o'clock performance will be added to the remaining Saturdays of the run. The first four performances of Our Lady of Poison, January 25 - 28, are Preview performances where audience members will have the opportunity to take part in the process of creating a show by participating in a talkback session with the director following each performance. The Official Opening Night is Friday, February 2nd and the Conversation Sunday for Our Lady of Poison is Sunday, February 18th.

Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can for the Preview on Thursday, January 25th. Remaining Preview tickets are $19.00. Starting Thursday, February 1st ticket prices are $27.00 for Thursday evenings, $32.00 for Friday and Saturday evenings and $29.00 for Saturday and Sunday matinees. Senior citizens (65 and older) and members of the Military receive a $2 discount on all tickets. Student tickets (with a valid student ID) are $10 for all performances. Flex Passes for the 2017-2018 Season are $170 and provide you with 6 Passes that can be used in any combination for any of the 6 shows in the 2017-2018 Season. Discounts are also available for groups of 10 or more (booked at least 1 week in advance through the Box Office). Tickets can be purchased Tuesday - Friday from 12-6pm by calling (517) 655-SHOW (7469) or by visiting the Box Office and ordered on-line up until 1 1/2 hours prior to the performance by visiting our website www.williamstontheatre.org. Payment is required at the time the reservation is made.

Our Lady of Poison is made possible in part by an award from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts with additional support from the Williamston Sunrise Rotary.

The Williamston Theatre is a not-for-profit, professional live theatre company, dedicated to producing plays that excite, engage and entertain our audiences. The theatre opened its doors in 2006, is the winner of a 2014 National Theatre Company Grant from The American Theatre Wing and has received a number of local awards including the 2008 Robert Busby Award for extraordinary overall contribution to theatre in the Greater Lansing Area.

Williamston Theatre patrons will find ample parking on the street and in several municipal lots throughout the city. The theatre is located in downtown Williamston (exit 117 off of I-96) just south of Grand River Avenue. Additional information about the company and the 2017-2018 Season is available online at www.williamstontheatre.org or by calling (517) 655-SHOW (7469).

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