New Edith Wharton One-Acts Get Staging at The Mount Thanksgiving Weekend

The Wharton One-Acts(LENOX, Mass.) – Two new adaptations of Edith Wharton short stories, “The Long Run” and “The Rembrandt,” will receive a Thanksgiving Week run at The Mount from Wednesday, November 26, to Sunday, November 30, 2014.

In “The Long Run” (1916), Ames, a gentleman engineer, returns to his social circle in New York after twelve years’ abroad. At a party, he meets an old college friend, Merrick, who confesses he is haunted by the memory of a passionate romance with a married woman, Penelope Trant Reardon, some years before. Through this story, Merrick relives their brief chance at happiness. “The Long Run” is likened to Wharton’s famous novel “The Age of Innocence,” which was to follow eight years later.

In “The Rembrandt” (1900), a museum curator is manipulated by his niece’s philanthropic meddling to give a professional appraisal of a “hidden masterpiece.” The painting in question is said to be a long-lost Rembrandt acquired by a once-wealthy widow, Mrs. Fontage. Upon close inspection of the painting, the curator finds himself in a serious ethical dilemma.
The acting company includes Jason Asprey, Robert Biggs, Michael Burnet, Jamie Greenland, John Hadden, Corinna May, Diane Prusha, Scott Renzoni and Scot Vighi with costumes by Govane Lohbauer and Kathleen Doyle, set by Patrick Brennan and live music performed by cellist/composer Jonah Thomas.

The adaptation of “The Long Run” is by John Hadden, and the play is directed by Andrew Borthwick-Leslie. “The Rembrandt” is adapted and directed by Michael Burnet.

 

wharton salon hThe program is a cooperative venture between the Wharton Salon and Pythagoras Theatre Works, in partnership with The Mount.

“We’re thrilled to be returning to the Main House at The Mount this year and to be forming a partnership with Pythagoras Theatre Works and their production of ‘The Rembrandt’,” says producing artistic director Catherine Taylor-Williams. “Together, we will have a united company of nine actors and a cellist! We’re excited to try out this new Thanksgiving Week time, and hope that people will come in groups of family and friends to enjoy these fantastic stories about classic Wharton themes – passion and art.”

 

“We’ve been friends and colleagues with Catherine for years and have always been huge fans of The Wharton Salon,” says Michael Burnet, Pythagoras artistic director, “so when the possibility of this partnership came up, we wondered why we hadn’t thought of it sooner.”

The Wharton Salon is a professional theatre company that performs the stories of novelist Edith Wharton and her contemporaries in site-specific locations, offering a unique intimacy between author, actor, and audience; and drawing connections between literature, architecture, and nature. 2014 is the Salon’s sixth season at The Mount. For tickets, cast bios, video, performance archives, and photos go to the Wharton Salon.

Pythagoras Theatre Works is a new professional theatre company located in West Stockbridge at the Historic 1854 Town Hall, producing historical pieces from the 19th and early 20th centuries – especially works by authors with a connection to the Berkshires and stories about local history and people. For information visit Pythagoras Theatre Works.

The Mount is a center for culture inspired by the passions and achievements of Edith Wharton.

Designed and built by Wharton in 1902, the house embodies the principles outlined in her influential book, The Decoration of Houses (1897). The property includes three acres of formal gardens designed by Wharton, who was also an authority on European landscape design, surrounded by extensive woodlands. Programming at The Mount reflects Wharton’s core interests in the literary arts, interior design and decoration, garden and landscape design, and the art of living. For more information visit The Mount.

 

 

Tickets are $35 General Admission. Performances take place in The Drawing Room in the Main House at The Mount (2 Plunkett St. Lenox, MA) Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3pm. There is no Thanksgiving Day (Nov 27) performance. Run time is 2 hours with a 15-minute intermission during which complimentary refreshments will be served. For tickets and information go to the Wharton Salon or call

1-800-838-3006.

 

 

Dates/Times: Wednesday November 26, Friday, November 28, and Saturday November 29 at 7pm
Saturday, November 29, and Sunday, November 30 at 3pm
(Note: No performance on Thursday, November 27 Thanksgiving Day)

Tickets: $35, General Admission. Wheelchair accessible.

Shuttle provided from upper parking lot to Main House at The Mount.

Online ticketing anytime at the Wharton Salon

Box office for telephone orders: 1-800-838-3006

Tickets will be sold at the door, based on availability, one hour before each scheduled

performance.

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