Dessa Rose at TheatreWorks, with Mugleston, Begins Oct. 4

By: Eugene Lovendusky Oct. 04, 2006

The West Coast will get its first look at a new musical from the creators of Ragtime when TheatreWorks presents Dessa Rose. Called "a soulful hymn to ancestry and sisterhood" by Variety, this compelling musical, composed and written by Lynn Ahrens/> and Stephen Flaherty/> (Ragtime, Once On This Island, and My Favorite Year), is a powerful tale of pride, perseverance, and the unlikely friendship forged between an abandoned southern belle and a rebellious slave girl escaping the antebellum South.

TheatreWorks Founding Artistic Director Robert Kelley helms Dessa Rose, beginning October 4 (opening: October 7) through 29 at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.

"Based upon the best-selling novel by Sherley Anne Williams, Dessa Rose captures the rhythms and roots of 19th century />/>America. Dessa Rose is a pregnant slave condemned to hang," states press notes. "Her captors, choosing not to destroy perfectly good 'property,' delay her sentence until she gives birth. Fleeing before her sentence is carried out, Dessa makes her way to the plantation of Ruth Sutton, a white woman recently abandoned by her husband, who finds herself providing sanctuary to fugitive slaves. Through hardship and humor, the two women forge an unsteady alliance, discovering greater strength in working together than by being alone. An evocative story of courage and freedom, Dessa Rose reveals the resilience, strength, and character of the American spirit."

Broadway actress Linda Mugleston makes her TheatreWorks debut as Ruth. Mugleston has performed on Broadway in Wonderful Town and Nine, off-Broadway in On the Town, and regionally at Hartford Stage, Old Globe, and at ACT, where she recently starred in Happy End. Also making her TheatreWorks debut is Carly Hughes as Dessa Rose. Hughes has been featured off-Broadway and in productions including Dreamgirls, Aida, Footloose, Ragtime, and Smokey Joe's Cafe at acclaimed regional theatres across the country.

Show times are: Previews at 8:00PM; Performances: Tuesdays at 7:30PM (no performance October 24); Wednesdays – Fridays at 8:00PM; Saturdays at 2 & 8:00PM (8:00PM only October 7 and 28); Sundays at 2 & 7:00PM (2:00PM only October 8 and 29). "Visual Voice" audio-described performances are available October 27, 28 at 8:00PM, and October 29 at 2:00PM.

TheatreWorks is located at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts 500 Castro St. (at Mercy), Mountain View.

For information and tickets ($35-62), call 650-903-6000 or visit www.theatreworks.org. Savings available for youth, students, seniors, and members.

Photo: Carly Hughes and Linda Mugleston, by David Allen

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