Camelot Theatre Company presents the 1992 Tony Award for Best Play, Brian Friel's  "Dancing at Lughnasa."

Camelot Theatre Company will present the third production in its 2008 season: Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa," winner of the 1992 Tony Award for Best Play. Described by Time Magazine as "The most elegant memory play since 'The Glass Menagerie,'" "Dancing at Lughnasa" is widely regarded as Brian Friel's masterpiece.

A mix of fantasy, dance, comedy and drama, the play tells the story of the five unmarried Mundy sisters, one with a young son, trying to survive in a small rural village in Ireland in 1936. It is the late summer time of the festival of Lughnasa, which celebrates the Celtic god of the harvest with bonfires, drunken revelry and dancing. Uncle Jack has just returned from his missionary work in Uganda under a cloud. The sisters' only link to the romance and hope of the world at large comes from brief, colorful bursts of music from the wireless radio.

Through the prisms of memory and myth, "Dancing at Lughnasa" looks at life as a series of daily choices we make and how they effect us: will we choose the mystical or the mundane, joy or just endurance, passion or despair, love or longing? How will we harvest our life before the onset of winter? And when the sisters finally dance to a wild, pagan Irish tune, they embody the core of the human spirit that cannot be vanquished by time or loss, or fully expressed in ordinary language.

ʉ۬A prolific writer, playwright Brian Friel is perhaps best known for "Dancing at Lughnasa," "Molly Sweeney" and "Translations." In 1999, the Lincoln Center Festival included a trio of his plays performed by two renowned Dublin theater companies as well as two symposia on Friel and Irish theater to commemorate Friel's 70th birthday.

Camelot's production is directed by its producing director and artistic associate, Doug Warner, who also appears as the narrator Michael. Richard Moeschl is assistant director and dramaturg. Formerly the producing director at Mendocino Theatre Company, Warner has extensive acting, directing and designing credits and joined Camelot's staff three years ago. At Camelot he appeared in "The Beard of Avon," "The 1940s Radio Hour" and "An American Daughter." He directed "Sockdology," "The Miracle Worker" and last season's musical, "The Spitfire Grill." Moeschl is Arts and Entertainment Editor for both the Mail Tribune and the Ashland Daily Tidings. His play, "Arthur's Dreams" won the 2006 Oregon Book Award for Drama.

Camelot's production of "Dancing at Lughnasa" features Camelot veterans Priscilla Quinby as Kate Mundy, Linda Otto as Maggie Mundy, Jessica Price as Christina Mundy, Susan Dumond as Rose Mundy, Arlene Warner as Agnus Mundy, Grant Shepard as Uncle Jack and Brandon Manley as Gerry Evans.

A Camelot veteran and former Broadway actress, Quinby starred as Mrs. Muzzy in "Sockdolgy," Ouiser in "Steel Magnolias" and Madge in "The Dresser" in 2007.

A graduate in Theatre and Film from UCLA, Otto spent a year at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven. Locally she has appeared at OCT, Artattack and OSW as well as at Camelot Theatre, most recently as Effie in "The Spitfire Grill."

Price recently moved to the Rogue Valley from New York, where she headlined at the St. James Theatre with Billy Crystal, and has worked with Gwen Verdon, Audra McDonald, and Gregory Hines. She recently appeared as Jeannie Gurley in "Sockology."

DuMond received her B.A. in Theatre from Bennington College in Vermont and studied acting at HB Studio in New York. She is currently completing a memoir, "Present Tense," which tells the story of growing up in a children's home in upstate New York. This is her first performance for Camelot Theatre.

Arlene Warner was previously seen at Camelot Theatre as Her Ladyship in "The Dresser" and as Dr. Judith Kaufman in "An American Daughter." Mendocino and Bay Area stage credits include Marsha in "The Decorator," Terry in "Sideman," and Germaine in "Picasso at the Lapin Agile."

A former professor of cinematography, television and theater arts, Shepard has, since retiring, been active in community theaters in Ventura, CA, and in the Rogue Valley. He was seen recently at Camelot in "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Dresser" and "Fahrenheit 451."

Manley has been acting since grade school with heavy involvement at the high school level. He has also appeared at Camelot as William Ferguson in "Sockdology," Connie Rivers in "Grapes of Wrath," Daryl in "Shakespeare in Hollywood" and Sidney Purvis in "Meet Me in St. Louis." 


The production team for Dancing at Lughnasa includes Camelot's resident designers: costumer Emily Ehrlich Inget; set designer, properties master and master carpenter Don Zastoupil; lighting designer Bart Grady and sound design by Brian OConnor. Stage management is by Bart Grady; assistant stage manager is Brandon Manley. Sound and light board operator is Tana Watkins.

"Dancing at Lughnasa" previews at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday April 30 and May 1, opens Friday May 2 and runs through May 25. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sundays with a special pay-what-you-can performance at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7.

Tickets are $10 for previews. All other regular performances are $16 for students and seniors and $18 for adults. Reserved seating is available for an additional $2 per ticket. Tickets are available online at at www.CamelotTheatre.org, by phone or in person at the theater box office from 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour before performances. Call 535-5250. . Tickets may also be purchased over the internet at www.CamelotTheatre.org.

BRIEF

Where: Camelot Theatre, 101 Talent Ave at Main St., Talent

What: Brian Friel's "Dancing at Lughnasa"

When: "Dancing at Lughnasa" previews at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday April 30 and May 1, opens Friday May 2 and runs through May 25. Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sundays with a special pay-what-you-can performance at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7.

Reservations are recommended.

Price: Tickets are $10 for previews. All other regular performances are $16 for students and seniors and $18 for adults. Reserved seating is available for an additional $2 per ticket.

Outlet: Theatre box office (535-5250) Box Office hours are from 1 – 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour before performances and over the internet at www.CamelotTheatre.org.

Special Performances: Pay-what-you-can at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7.