GIVE $22 IN HONOR OF OUR 22ND SEASON AND

BECOME A FRIEND OF BRT TODAY!

For the past 21 years at BRT we have been creating great stories on stage to share with you. We are committed to making our shows the best entertainment and the best value in Bucks County. In order to continue on for the next 21 years, we need your help. Ticket sales only account for 54% of our operating budget. In order to create the beautiful sets and costumes, and get the most talented actors we depend on your help. Each gift we receive gets us closer to our goal. When we raise $8,500 we will have been able to pay for one set.

This year we have added new benefits to different giving levels:

• Friend: $20-$99 Benefits include: Name in Program, Electronic Events Newsletter
• Angel: $100-$199 Friend Benefits + BRT Commemorative Gift
• Backers: $200-$499 Angel Benefits + Invitation to Spring Donor Reception
• Producers: $500-$999 Backers Benefits + Two Free Ticket Vouchers
• Benefactors: $1,000-$4,999 Producer Benefits + Personal Invitation to Reading Series
• Grand Sponsor: $5,000-$20,000 Benefactor + Backstage Tour with Staff
• Major Donor $20,001+ Grand Sponsor Benefits + Invited Artist Luncheon

Of course BRT would love you to give more, but every small gift you give helps us reach our goal. This year we are inviting you to give a gift today, and become a friend of BRT.

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BRISTOL RIVERSIDE THEATRE presents

Welcome Home, Marian Anderson

Inspired by the life and legacy of the Philadelphia singer
January 22 – February 10, 2008

PHILADELPHIA – Bristol Riverside Theatre is honored to present the Philadelphia area premiere of Welcome Home, Marian Anderson, a musical drama about the triumphant story of the celebrated Philadelphia contralto singer. Written by and starring Vanessa Shaw, and directed by Jeffrey V. Thompson, the production explores the life and legacy of the famed African American singer who overcame racial bias to capture a nation, becoming one of the most successful singers of her time and an important figure in American history. Hailed as “An artful mixture of history, social commentary and music” with “A riveting performance with a vocal power that is electrifying” (Trenton Times), Welcome Home, Marian Anderson runs at Bristol Riverside Theatre from January 22 through February 10, 2008 (Opening Night is January 24). Tickets are $39 – $42 and are available by calling the BRT Box Office at (215) 785-0100 or online at www.BRTstage.org. 

Welcome Home, Marian Anderson follows a critical period in the life of the singer (the mid to late 1930s), including the historic and now legendary 1939 Easter Sunday concert at Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.  Music performed in the play includes classical arias, spirituals, American patriotic songs, and German lieder.

Throughout her career, Anderson prevailed over seemingly insurmountable challenges with dignified resolve and quiet determination. Having already achieved international acclaim, Anderson was denied permission to perform at the Daughters of the American Revolution’s (D.A.R.) Constitution Hall on the grounds of segregation. Politicians, community and church leaders, and the general public – both black and white – denounced this decision which led to the public resignation from the D.A.R. of Eleanor Roosevelt, then First Lady of the United States. Later, a public concert was organized at the Lincoln Memorial with the great mall as an outdoor auditorium. Broadcast over national radio, Anderson’s concert was attended by a huge and enthusiastic audience of 75,000 people – the largest gathering at the mall in its history up to that time.

Playwright and performer, Vanessa Shaw, has garnered praise for her portrayal of this enigmatic and powerful historical figure. She was moved to begin work on the script after reading of Anderson’s death in 1993.  Seeing a photo of the Lincoln Memorial concert and the thousands of people in attendance, “was so overwhelming and inspiring that I began writing the play that day,” she says. “Bringing this legend to the stage has been both rewarding and daunting, and worth every minute.”  The show has been performed at the National Black Theater Festival, the Paul Robeson Theater in Brooklyn, Seven Stages in Atlanta, and the Lorraine Hansberry Theater in San Francisco, among others.  Bristol Riverside Theatre will present its Philadelphia area premiere.

The cast of three perform several roles throughout the show, including Vanessa Shaw as Anderson, Mary Saunders Patterson, and Maude, Ivan Thomas as Paul Robeson, Accompanist, Billy King, Nazi Soldier, and Gerry, and Mark Edward Lang as Kosti, Orpheus, and Hurok.  

Vanessa Shaw’s previous performances include Timbuktu opposite Ertha Kitt, Camelot with Robert Goulet, and Raisin opposite Debbie Allen and Joe Morton. Her classical and theatre concerts have taken her all over the world and include the works of composers as diverse as Copeland, Bizet, Rogers and Hart/Hammerstein, Howard Roberts, Schubert, Cole Porter, and Stevie Wonder. With over fifteen years of professional experience performing, teaching and directing, Mark Edward Lang is an Artistic Associate with New York City’s Harbor Theatre Company, an honors graduate of Vassar College, and recipient of the Kazan Prize for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts. Ivan Thomas, a singer, actor and classical pianist, has performed around the world and is currently a baritone singer with the Mitch Miller Orchestra.

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BRT Participates in Free Night of Theater

Try us, or another area theatre for the first time, October 18

This year, BRT is offering three free nights of Theater!  If you are a new patron, join us either Wednesday, October 10, Thursday, October 11, or Thursday, October 18 at 8:00pm.  Or if you've been here before, try a new theatre of the 13 participating from the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia.  All reservations must be made through the Free Night of Theater website.

Free Night of Theater is Theatre Communications Group's exciting national audience development program designed to attract new audiences to America's not-for-profit theatres. Since the pilot program, which debuted in three cities in 2005, Free Night has expanded across the country and is being presented in over 70 cities this year.

The 2007 campaign debuts on October 18, 2007 and is being produced in Atlanta, Austin, Boise, Cincinnati, Cleveland, the state of Connecticut, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lexington, Los Angeles, the state of New Jersey, the state of North Carolina, Oregon (in Ashland and Eugene), Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle/Greater Puget Sound, South Carolina/Charleston, states represented by Southeastern Theatre Conference (including Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, Virginia and West Virginia), Utah, Washington D.C. and the state of Wisconsin.

Tickets are available now and are going fast!  Book yours today on www.freenightoftheatre.net!

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Heisenberg, Bohr and the Bomb

A three part series previewing BRT's production of Copenhagen

"Copenhagen" is a challenging play not only in theatrical style, but with a large volume of scientific discussion about atomic Physics within the script.  But don't let that frighten you.  As Ben Brantley, Theatre Ciritic for the New York Times wrote:

“This isn't a play to see after two martinis; it demands your thorough concentration. But this critic, who barely squeaked through a college course known as ''Physics for Poets,'' was moved to tears not of frustration but of wondering comprehension.”

Michael Frayn, perhaps best known for his 1982 play "Noises Off," is one of the few authors to find success in both play and prose writing.  Far from the levity of the comedy he became famous for, "Copenhagen" presents one of history’s most controversial and important meetings between two fathers of nuclear physics.  The results of which may, or may not, have altered the course of human history...

Whether you are a 20 year subscriber or a new patron, we hope you take some time to read all three parts of the series. 

Available online now:

Part I: The Playwright and the Play

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Now more Online than ever!

New BRT internet Weblog, Survey, MySpace page and Facebook have been launched

Finding yourself with some free time while surfing the internet? BRT now has even more diversions for your online experience.

We're in the process of launching our new BRTstage Weblog (Blog) right here on this page, but for now, you can access it by clicking the link above.  Find out more about "who we are when we're not on stage," including interviews with performers, journals from stagehands, behind-the-scenes stories and pictures from designers and directors, and even some zany office antics.

Join your host Gene, for BRT as you've never seen it before!

Help us serve you better!  Now available is BRT's Online Survey.  We need your help to better learn who you are, what you look for in Theatre, what your interests are, where you are from, etc.

Fill out a survey today to be entered into a drawing to win two free tickets to upcoming shows this season!

OK, so we're a little behind the times, but BRT has finally created its own MySpace Page.  Come chat with BRT, find new friends who enjoy the Theatre, see even more behind-the-scenes pictures, hear about special social gatherings and maybe even receive super-secret special ticket discount offers!

Click the link above or visit: www.MySpace.com/brtstage

Facebook is the up-and-coming online Social Utility great for networking, staying in touch with current friends, and tracking down long-lost buddies.  Having surpassed MySpace with more new users a month, Facebook may be the wave of the future.  Pictures, networking and Exclusive discount offers are perks we give our Facebook friends.  To view our Facebook page, you have to become a member, but try it, you might like it...we do! 

Search for us after you join: our user name is "Bristol Riverside Theatre."

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BRT Announces Special Events for I do! I do!

Something for everyone each week of run

Bristol Riverside Theatre is pleased to again offer special values to a number of performances of the opening production of our Twenty-First Season, I do! I do!

• Pay What You Can Previews: October 2 & 3, these first-come, first-served, as available tickets are released for at-door sales beginning at 7:30pm on the day of the performance. 

• Theatre Luncheon with the King George II Inn: Saturday, October 6, enjoy a 12:00 pre-performance lunch at one of Bucks County's finest restaurants, followed by a 2:00 matinee performance.  Tickets are $53 per person.  

• Friday Festival: This pre-show event on Friday, October, 12 features complimentary wine, hors d'oeuvres and desert.  A guest speaker sharing background information on the play is another added bonus to this popular performance.  Doors open at 7:00 with an 8:00 performance.  Tickets are $42 per person.

• Wine Down Wednesday: The third Wednesday of the run, October 17, BRT offers you a midweek was to wind down.  This special evening includes complimentary wine, crudite and dessert prior to the 8:00 performance.  Doors open at 7:00, tickets are $39.

Sorry, discounted and package tickets are not yet available online.  Please contact the Box Office for further details at 215-785-0100.

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