DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE Plays the Bristol Riverside Theatre, 9/28-10/17

Lust, love and horror set the stage for the opening production of Bristol Riverside Theatre's 2010-11 mainstage season with Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde adapted by Jeffrey Hatcher, running September 28-October 17. Directed by BRT Artistic Director Keith Baker, the ensemble cast features Ezra Barnes, Sean Gormley, Eileen Ward, and Debra Whitfield.

Previews begin Tuesday, September 28 with opening night on Thursday, September 30.
Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until October 17. Tickets start at $31, with discounts for students and groups. Tickets are available visiting brtstage.org or calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100. Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

A new and shocking version of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde takes the audience to the fog-bound streets of Victorian-era London where Henry Jekyll's experiments with exotic "powders & tinctures" have brought forth his other self - Edward Hyde, a sensualist and villain free to commit the sins Jekyll is too civilized to comprehend. The two sides battle each other in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to determine who shall be the master and who his slave.

Jeffrey Hatcher's sexy and steamy drama honors the original but gives a more complex interpretation of mankind's dual relationship with good and evil.

Jeffrey Hatcher (playwright) is the author of Murderers, A Picasso, Three Viewings, and Compleat Female Stage Beauty, all of which have been performed locally. His other plays/adaptations include Scotland Road, To Fool the Eye and The Turn of the Screw. His work has been developed and produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, Primary Stages, Yale Rep, Old Globe, Guthrie, South Coast Rep., Intiman, Milwaukee Rep., The Empty Space, Denver Center, and Actors Theatre of Louisville, among others. His adaptation of Kaufman and Hart's The Fabulous Invalid premiered recently at Boston's Majestic Theatre, and he co-authored the stage version of Tuesdays with Morrie. His screenplays include Compleat Female Stage Beauty and Casanova.

Ezra Barnes (Actor 4) returns to BRT where he last appeared in Around the World in 80 Days. He has been a frequent guest at Shakespeare on the Sound and Pioneer Theatre Company. He has also been featured at Paper Mill Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse, Hartford Stage and The Fulton Theatre.

Sean Gormley (Actor 3) has appeared in New York in several productions at Irish Rep in Aristocrats, Yeats Project and The Devil's Disciple and regionally at Capitol Hill Arts Center, Chamber Theatre and Wooden O. Theater. He has also performed on television in the HBO film Treme and on All My Children.

Robert Ian McKenzie (Actor 2) returns to BRT where he last appeared in Forget Herostratus. In addition to frequent performances at Stageworks and Ensemble for the Romantic Century, he has appeared at the Humana Festival with Actors Theatre of Louisville, Syracuse Stage, Hangar Theatre and Wally the Dog Theater. His film credits include The Thomas Crown Affair, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and A Fish Called Wanda.

Eileen Ward (Actor 5) has starred in A Streetcar Named Desire, Waiting for Lefty, Much Ado About Nothing, Crimes of the Heart, and Guys & Dolls, all at New Harmony Theater. She has received a SALT Award nomination for The King and I at Merry Go Round and 2 Helen Hayes nominations for Hello Dolly at Toby's Theater. Local audiences will recognize her from Philemon at The Wilma Theater, and 1776 and The Secret Garden, both at Olney Theatre.

Debra Whitfield (Actor 6) makes her Philadelphia debut with this production. Regionally she has appeared in several productions at Dorset Theatre Festival where she was awarded Best Actress in Relatively Speaking and Best Supporting Actress in The Mousetrap. She has also appeared in productions at Florida Studio Theatre, Florida Stage, Virginia Stage Company, Two River Theatre Company and Emelin Theatre.

Since 1986, BRT has brought consistently acclaimed professional theatre to Bucks County and maintained a long-term commitment to finding and developing new plays. The theatre is the recipient of over 50 Barrymore Award nominations for Excellence in Theatre, given annually by the Theatre Alliance of Greater Philadelphia. In addition to its mainstage productions, the theatre serves as a cultural hub for the community, with such programs as children's theatre, community concerts and exhibitions of local visual arts. Currently under the direction of Artistic Director Keith Baker, Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson, and Managing Director, Amy Kaissar, BRT enters its 24th season. For information, visit www.brtstage.org.

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