Barter Theatre to Open Summer Season with MARY'S WEDDING

"Mary's Wedding," makes its regional debut at Barter Stage II on May 16. It is the first production of Barter's ambitious summer season.

Mary's wedding is tomorrow, but tonight she is dreaming, not of her fiancé, but when she took shelter in a barn and met Charlie. As she dreams of the past, Mary remembers The Great War, her love for Charlie and how he changed her life. Mary and Charlie are filled with the passion and impulsiveness of youth, but Charlie also feels a sense of duty to go to war and protect his country.

Katy Brown, who is directing "Mary's Wedding," said, "It's something incredibly personal that sends Charlie to war: the poem 'The Charge of the Light Brigade.' It captures his heart, and he is willing to die for the kind of service and glory it depicts."

Actors Holly Williams and Andrew Hampton Livingston will be featured in "Mary's Wedding."

Playwright Stephen Massicotte authored "Mary's Wedding" in the early 2000s. Since then, the play has won the Alberta Playwriting Competition, the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding New Play and the Alberta Book Award for Drama. "Mary's Wedding" has been produced at more than 80 theatres across the United States and Canada.

"Mary's Wedding" kicks off the summer performance schedule at Barter Theatre; "Mary Poppins," opens on May 23, "Southern Fried Nuptials," "Keep on the Sunny Side," "The Marvelous Wonderettes," and "The Understudy" will follow to complete the exciting summer schedule.

"Mary's Wedding" is made possible by corporate sponsor Reynolds American. Barter Theatre is sponsored in part by the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.