(CHESTER, Mass.) – Debra Jo Rupp stars in “Memory House,” a moving story about the complex issues raised by international child adoption, running at the Chester Theatre Company through Sunday, August 9, 2015. The play, written by Kathleen Tolan, was described as “A captivating emotional ballet that is also a moving demonstration of the strenuous work that goes into good mothering” by the New York Times.

“Memory House” opens in a New York apartment on New Year’s Eve. Maggie, played by Rupp – a veteran of the Berkshire theater scene best known for role on TV’s “That ‘70s Show” – hovers as her teenage daughter Katia tries to finish her college application — due by midnight. Katia picks tonight — of all times — to challenge Maggie on the ethics of her adoption from a Russian orphanage, while Maggie picks tonight to learn to bake a pie.

Tolan was commissioned by Oskar Eustis, former artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Company (Providence, RI) to write a play that eventually became “Memory House”.  Inspired by a case relating to an international adoption, she wrote about the complexities of raising a child born to a different mother in another part of the world.

Stage, film, and television actress Debra Jo Rupp will be starring as Maggie. Katia will be played by newcomer Caitlyn Griffin. The mother-daughter relationship of the play mirrors the relationship of the actors, as Rupp has taken Griffin under her wing as she makes her professional debut.

Tickets are available at Chester Theatre Company or by phone at 1800-595-4TIX.

Chester Theatre Company, a professional theatre company located in the foothills of the Berkshires, produces 4 plays each summer, performed by topflight actors, directors and designers from across the country. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Byam Stevens, CTC has earned a reputation for producing the best in contemporary theatre —  17 CTC productions have gone on to Off Broadway, regional, national, and international engagements in the last 18 years.