Rhinebeck Theatre Society presents The Women of Lockerbie Sept 22-Oct 1 at The James Baird Pavilion
PLEASANT VALLEY — Facing national tragedy without cause, and fighting leaders for the most basic and human of needs are struggles that far too many people face in today’s world. And The Women of Lockerbie stands up for those people, and bolsters them with the support and validation they deserve. Deborah Brevoort’s modern-day Greek tragedy tells the story of the two-hundred and seventy people who were killed on December 21st, 1988, when Pan Am 103 was brutally bombed mid-flight. But furthermore, it tells of the hell that was created when the fiery pieces of that bombing fell like rain onto the quiet little Scottish farm town directly beneath: Lockerbie.
Adam Alexander Livingston was a 20-year-old student aboard the Pan Am 103, coming home just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family - like so many others on the fated plane. And the bomb went off directly beneath his seat. Seven years later, his mother Madeline, mentally declined from the pain of loss, has come all the way from the United States to the hills of Lockerbie, convinced that she can find her son’s remains. While her husband Bill tries to help her through her unavailing struggle, they find others with a mission of their own: a group of women who are fighting the U.S. Government to obtain the clothing of the victims found in the plane’s wreckage. The women, determined to convert an act of hatred into an act of love, seek to wash the clothes of the dead and return them to the victim’s families. A mother driven mad with grief, a father unable to begin to grieve, and the caring, determined people of the land who have their own axe to grind–The Women of Lockerbie is a tale for the ages.
Brevoort’s story, while fictionalized in terms of the specific people it deals with, is based on the entirely true and infamous incident. It was the winner of the silver medal in the Onassis International Playwriting Competition and the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award. The New Yorker called it “a moving, thoughtful exploration of how grief changes over time.” It earned its place as the LA Times Critics Choice.
Courtney Constantino, who stars as Madeline Livingston, the begrieved mother, restates a familiar quote: “When you lose someone, the condolences end. But the grief never does.”
The creative team includes director Duane Joseph Olson, the creator behind The CENTER for Performing Arts’ Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and assistant director Lisa Delia, who was at the right hand for Rhinebeck Theatre Society’sThe Prom this past summer. Olson remarks, “The Women of Lockerbie checks every box. It masters a monumental array of topics and themes, all packed into a single act. Grief, sexism, hatred, corruption, courage, love - it leaves no stone unturned and no one left behind. There’s no one biggest issue captivating the world right now - we live in a whirlwind. And Lockerbie serves to calm that storm. I don’t know if a greater dramatic work exists.”
Performance run September 22 - October 1 at the The James Baird Pavilion, Shelter -1, 14 Maintenance Ln, Pleasant Valley, NY 12569
All tickets are $22 and are available at https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/76140
Complimentary hot tea will be available for all ticket holders. Venue is fully roofed, equipped with citronella candles, and heated by fireplace. Rain or shine. Handicap accessible.
The cast includes Jessica Boyd, Cora Colwell, Courtney Constantino-Baldeh, Joe Eriole, Stephany Hitchcock, Mike Risio, and Wendy Urban-Mead.
“THE WOMEN OF LOCKERBIE is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com)”
PRESS PHOTOS AT:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1bRQfMkvXYEmK46PBDQMwvjz9Th_vGNiP?usp=drive_link
PHOTO CREDITS:
Photographer: Jen Bideaux
RIVERSIDE 4
From left to right: Stephany Hitchcock, Courtney Constantino-Baldeh
RIVERSIDE 2
From left to right: Wendy Urban-Mead, Stephany Hitchcock, Cora Colwell
RIVERSIDE 1
From left to right: Wendy Urban-Mead, Stephany Hitchcock, Cora Colwell
FIELD 1
From left to right: Wendy Urban-Mead, Cora Colwell, Courtney Constantino-Baldeh, Stephany Hitchcock
CLIFFSIDE 1
From left to right: Cora Colwell, Wendy Urban-Mead, Courtney Constantino-Baldeh, Stephany Hitchcock
BEHIND HILLS
From left to right: Cora Colwell, Stephany Hitchcock, Wendy Urban-Mead, Courtney Constantino-Baldeh
HATTIE 2
Wendy Urban-Mead