POSSESSING HARRIET
A New Jersey Premiere
Written by Kyle Bass
Directed by Mark Edward Lang
September 21 – October 15
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM
Tickets: $35; 30 (ages 62+); $20 students and military (active/retired/veteran)
Ages 12 and under free
Written by Kyle Bass
Directed by Mark Edward Lang
September 21 – October 15
Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM
Tickets: $35; 30 (ages 62+); $20 students and military (active/retired/veteran)
Ages 12 and under free
In 1839, in Peterboro, NY, Thomas Leonard, a freed slave, helps Harriet Powell escape from her Southern owner who is visiting the area. While hiding in an attic, a price on her head, waiting to be taken to Canada in the dead of night, Harriet is with abolitionist Gerrit Smith and suffragette Elizabeth Cady (before she married Stanton). Confronted with new and difficult ideas about race and identity, Harriet faces the costs and benefits of freedom. Can Leonard, Smith and Cady convince her to go to Canada – and freedom? ELTC is presenting its fourth production and NJ premiere. Mr. Bass received a commission from the Onondaga Historical Association to write POSSESSING HARRIET. It is based on a true story.
POSSESSING HARRIET had its World Premiere at Syracuse Stage, Syracuse, NY, in October 2018; Artistic Director Robert Hupp; Production Directed by Tazewell Thompson. It was originally commissioned by The Onondaga Historical Association, in Syracuse, NY; Gregg Tripoli, Executive Director.
Possessing Harriet by Kyle Bass
Copyright © 2013 All rights reserved.
Produced by arrangement with Kyle Bass and The Barbara Hogenson Agency, Inc.
BIOS
Tom Byrn (Gerrit Smith) has performed with ELTC since 2009, including in two solo shows, Will Rogers U.S.A. (2018), and Mr. Lincoln, which was part of ELTC's 2015 and 2016 seasons and toured to Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in PA. Howard Shapiro’s excellent review for “Newsworks” and WHYY TV and Radio stated: “Tom Byrn evokes Lincoln.” The link for the full review click here. Tom was also in ELTC’s Within the Law, He and She, Biography, The Dictator, and the world premiere of The Ransom of Red Chief. In 2019, he directed Summerland and in 2018, Silent Sky for ELTC. In the past few years, Tom also performed in The Importance of Being Earnest and One Slight Hitch by Lewis Black (Cider Mill Playhouse, Endicott, NY), Jane Austen Readings (Franklin Stage Company, Franklin, NY); and Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker (The REP Stage, Baltimore/D.C.). He has acted at various theaters in the Philadelphia area, including, People's Light, Interact, Lantern, Act II Playhouse, and at various other theaters in PA, NY, and OH. Currently an Associate Member, for eleven years, Tom was a full-time Ensemble Member of the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in Bloomsburg, PA, where he acted, directed, wrote, and taught. He is co-editor of the trade paperback Letters to the Editor (Simon & Schuster) and a member of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab. He is a graduate of Vassar College, and a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Tom resides in the Susquehanna River Valley of central PA.
Chauncy Thomas (Thomas Leanard) is thrilled to make his debut at East Lynne Theater Company. He received B.A.s in Drama and Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and currently resides in New York City. New York Theatre: Romeo and Juliet at Lincoln Center Education, Hamlet at RIPT Theater Company. Regional Theatre: A Raisin in the Sun at Bay Street Theatre, Clybourne Park at the St. Louis Rep, Our Town at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Topdog/Underdog at St. Louis Actors’ Studio (St. Louis Circle Award Lead Actor Nominee), As You Like It at Illinois Shakespeare Festival, The Real McCoy at The Black Rep (Kevin Kline Award Supporting Actor Nominee), and Intimate Apparel at New Jewish Theatre (St. Louis Circle Award Supporting Actor Nominee). Upcoming productions include Getting Married and Ben Butler at Peterborough Players in New Hampshire. Television: “Madam Secretary.”
Stephanie Turci (Elizabeth Cady) is thrilled to be performing in her first ELTC show! After graduating from Rutgers University, she moved to NYC and began working at regional theaters, such Bay Street Theater (The Great Gatsby) and the State Theater of NJ (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat). She also got to play one of her dream roles, Hazel Grace, in the BMI Workshop of The Fault in Our Stars the Musical. She often sings in 54 Below concerts, working with incredible writers such as Rob Rokicki and Joe Iconis.
Stephanie has since jumped into more film work. Her first short film, Death by Clichè, which she wrote, directed, and starred in, was a finalist at the Cutting Room International Short Film Festival.
Stephanie has since jumped into more film work. Her first short film, Death by Clichè, which she wrote, directed, and starred in, was a finalist at the Cutting Room International Short Film Festival.
Photo by Brenna Merritt
Kyle Bass’s Possessing Harriet received its world premiere at Syracuse Stage, directed by Tazewell Thompson. It was also produced at Franklin Stage Company and has an upcoming production at HartBeat Ensemble (CT). Kyle’s other full-length plays include Baldwin vs. Buckley: The Faith of Our Fathers, Tender Rain, Bleecker Street, and Separated, a piece of documentary theater about the student military veterans at Syracuse University which was presented at Syracuse Stage and at the Paley Center in New York. His play salt/city/blues will premiere at Syracuse Stage in 2021, directed by Tazewell Thompson, and he is the co-author (with Ping Chong) of Cry for Peace: Voices from the Congo, which had its world premiere at Syracuse Stage and was subsequently produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre in New York. Kyle worked with acclaimed visual artist Carrie Mae Weems on her theater piece Grace Notes: Reflections for Now, which had its world premiere at the 2016 Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina, subsequently produced at Yale Rep and the Kennedy Center. Kyle is the co-author of the original screenplay for the film Day of Days (Broad Green Pictures, 2017), which stars award-winning veteran actor Tom Skerritt, and is a two-time recipient of the NYFA Fellowship (for fiction in 1998 and playwriting in 2010), a finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Award, and a Pushcart Prize nominee. Kyle’s current projects include the libretto for an opera based on the life and music of legendary folk singer and guitarist Libba Cotten, commissioned by the Society for New Music, and the screenplay adaptation of the novel Milk by Darcy Steinke. Kyle is Assistant Professor in the Department of Theater at Colgate University, where he previously served as the Burke Endowed Chair for Regional Studies, and he is the current Susan P. Stroman Visiting Playwright at the University of Delaware. Kyle previously taught playwriting at Syracuse University and in the M.F.A. Creative Writing program at Goddard College. Kyle earned an M.F.A. in playwriting from Goddard College. He is the Associate Artistic Director at Syracuse Stage, and a proud member of the Dramatists Guild of America. He is represented by The Barbara Hogenson Agency.
Mark Edward Lang (Director) has a diverse background working in the theater, from acting and directing to scenic design and playwriting. New York directing projects (production and workshop) include the interactive comedy INSTANT SHAKESPEARE, Feydeau’s farce THE TURKEY, political parody THE WHITE HOUSE ’96, and OTHELLO on 42nd Street starring Timothy D. Stickney of ABC's One Life to Live. Regional includes Sam Shepard’s FOOL FOR LOVE in Florida and an acclaimed production of O’Neill’s ANNA CHRISTIE for ELTC. As a playwright: LUNT AND FONTANNE at Classic Theatre of San Antonio and FringeNYC, SCOTT & ZELDA: A LIFE AFFAIR (ELTC and NYC). Corporate leadership theater events across the country and around the world with Leadership-Masters. Acting roles include many seasons with ELTC, including 2019’s THE RAINMAKER. Honors graduate of Vassar College (Theater Major, Kazan Prize for Excellence in the Dramatic Arts)
