Come Play at Barter Theatre in 2010: 16 Varied and Exciting Productions Announced

Abingdon, VA – Even though the mercury is low in the region, the energy and excitement are high for the upcoming season at the State Theatre of Virginia. Actors are beginning rehearsals; production teams are busy building costumes, sets and props as well as planning the sound and lights for each of the 16 productions slotted for Barter Theatre in 2010. 

Barter’s 2010 season is all about play. Whether you are six or one hundred and six, bubble with the excitement of youth as you are transported to a crazy world down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland; remember that the “sun will come out tomorrow” through the joyful musical Annie; journey to the moon with the world premiere about the men who got us there and their wonderfully playful process in The Blue-Sky Boys; uncover the clues with Holmes and Watson when the game’s afoot in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily; and uplift your spirits with It’s a Wonderful Life or the antics of those funny folks from Tuna, Texas in A Tuna Christmas.
 
Everyone remembers the King of Rock-n-Roll, Elvis Presley. Audience favorite Scot Bruce will return to Barter Theatre in the summer complete with gyrating hips and a smooth, velvety voice in Shake, Rattle and Roll: A Rockin’ Tribute to the King.
 
Fantastic music and fun stories come rolled into one in both The Full Monty and Chaps!. Barter presents yet another world-premiere with Richard Alfieri’s powerful Revolutions and the unforgettable Tuesdays With Morrie.
 
Barter partners with Virginia during the statewide celebration - Minds Wide Open: Women in the Arts. One of Virginia’s most famous female artists is featured in Always…Patsy Cline. A world of insights, compassion and fortitude is revealed through a young woman’s courageous story in The Diary of Anne Frank. Sarah Ruhl, one of the best female playwrights today, is celebrated with her play Dead Man’s Cell Phone. The southern musical Violet celebrates the courage and adventures of a young woman as she discovers the true meaning of healing and self. Barter continues this celebration in the fall with the mystery The Woman in Black and closes with an adaptation of Clyde Edgerton’s novel by Barter’s own talented playwright-in-residence, Catherine Bush, with her premiere of Where Trouble Sleeps.
 
Celebrating its tenth year, the Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights (A.F.P.P) will again be held in conjunction with the Virginia Highlands Festival in late July and early August. This year, A Southern Exposure by Kelley Kingston-Strayer will have its first mini-production after receiving a read-through in last year’s A.F.P.P. This important festival, developing plays and playwrights from the Appalachian region, is made possible through a generous sponsorship by Dominion.
 
New to Barter Audiences in 2010
This year, Barter introduces Barter Insider 360º, a fun, three-part enterprise that will add to a Barter experience. Audiences will be offered a comprehensive look behind the scenes and get up close and personal with selected new and unknown plays and musicals that might otherwise be passed over. Funding for this new program is provided in part by a grant from Altria Group, Inc.
 
Part one is “The Barter Insider,” a magazine dedicated to diving deeper than the title and plot. Violet, The Blue-Sky Boys, and Revolutions will be featured in the publication, available free at the Box Office from March – August and on Barter’s Web site. Filled with articles, commentary and exclusive insights into the productions, the magazine will inform, challenge and entertain.
 
The second part is the unveiling of a Barter YouTube channel. This will allow patrons a window into the creative process to see a production like never before. See how puppets are made from start to finish for Alice in Wonderland, how a set designer creates a new world beginning with just a pencil and paper, and much, much more.
 
Also included in Barter 360º are intimate discussions with actors and directors before and after selected performances. Check FaceBook.com/BarterTheatre or Twitter/BarterInsider for dates and times or call the Box Office. This provides a rare chance to talk directly to Barter actors and directors and ask questions.
 
School and College groups are encouraged to attend and speacial ticket prices may be available. Contact me.

Thank you,