Photo Flash: PRIDE RIVER CROSSING Plays Fresh Fruit Festival, 7/17-24

PRIDE RIVER CROSSING, an LGBT take on Edgar Lee Masters' SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY, will play the All Out Arts / Fresh Fruit Festival, July 17 – 24, 2012 at The Wild Project 195 East 3rd St, NYC. Get a first look at the production in the photos below!

PRIDE RIVER CROSSING by playwright PatRick Thomas McCarthy; Hometown: Waukesha, Wisconsin; channels SPOON RIVER ANTHOLOGY's otherworldly voices to comment on contemporary gay life in America with its many voices speaking both from current events and from the afterlife.

The six townspeople playing PRIDE RIVER CROSSING's 45 characters are: Denise DeMirjian, Hometown: Los Angeles, CA; Brian Linden, Hometown: Wheeling, West Virginia; Miles Phillips, Hometown: Weaverville, CA; Laurie Strickland, Hometown: Acworth, GA; Chantal Thomson, Hometown: Brandon, Manitoba, Canada; and Joshua Warr, Hometown: Potsdam, NY.

Edgar Lee Masters' hometown, Petersburg, IL, is also the hometown of PRIDE RIVER CROSSING backer, Amanda Serra. Director Patrick Aran notes, "Edgar Lee Masters had to change his name to Webster Ford to publish his first poems about the townspeople of Petersburg, changing the town's name to Spoon River to avoid their wrath. The people of Petersburg were not amused." Playwright PatRick Thomas McCarthy adds, "Many of Pride River's characters are based on people from my life experiences in the Midwest, & several characters are drawn directly from Spoon River, but all have a distinctly LGBT slant. And the non-gay characters all have to cope with those that are, some better than others."

From two dad families, to gay weddings & funerals, marriage counseling & revival meetings, prison cells & courtrooms, video artists to bankers & bakers, PRIDE RIVER CROSSING raises a lid for the audience to peek inside the lives of the Midwestern townspeople of Pride River. "Come gather by the River, for no matter what your hometown is, you'll recognize the townspeople of Pride River and feel welcome there. I'm a booster, guilty as charged," effuses Mitzi Reed, Pride River booster & real estate agent.

Staff for PRIDE RIVER CROSSING: PatRick Thomas McCarthy, Playwright; Patrick Aran, Director; Kathryn Hammond & Lee Smith, Warehouse of Theatre, Old Dominion University, Visual & Sound Design; Susan Cook, Costume Coordination; Lewis Chambers, Bethel Agency, Production Advisor; Dianne Tack, Production Advisor. Standbys: Joel Ingram, Kelli Kay, Eve Sorel.

PRIDE RIVER CROSSING will play the All Out Arts Fresh Fruit Festival, Tues July 17 @8pm; Wed July 18 @6pm; Sun July 22 @6pm; & Tues July 24 @6pm at The Wild Project 195 East 3rd St, NYC. [Near Ave B & Houston St] The ALL OUT ARTS FRESH FRUIT FESTIVAL runs from July 16 to July 29, 2012. Visit the FRESH FRUIT FESTIVAL website for more programming information. Tickets @ $18 can be ordered online starting June 20, 2012.