Susan Streater directs the Rockhill Productions staging, which opens Aug. 4 and continues to Aug. 25.
According to production notes, Piper's Song "tells the story of Steven, a young man who has it all, or so he thinks. On the eve of a party being thrown in his honor, he feels like the luckiest guy in the world: plenty of money, a beautiful fiancé, and a great job that is about to get that much better with a huge promotion, thanks in no small part to the fact that his bride-to-be is the boss' daughter. Humbled by his good fortune, Steven is looking forward to using his influence within the company to implement his dream of creating a charitable institution on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. At the party, when Steven tells his boss about his plans, he is informed in no uncertain terms that his ideals have no place in the world of business. Stung and humiliated, Steven explodes and storms out of the party; within hours, finding himself without a job and his engagement on the rocks. He embarks on a rampage of self-destruction. The following morning, our hero wakes to find himself in a derelict's den along the banks of the Hudson River, having been carried there the night before by a slightly lunatic crew of street people. How could he guess that out of such dire straits, with the help of his colorful new friends, he would discover the Wissom and the Woman to put him back on track?"
John Ryerson was the leader of the rock group Struggle. As an actor, he appeared at Arena Stage, Tribeca Lab and New Dramatists. His produced plays include The Record Release Party, a musical, as well as Tech-Nite and Driven To Murder.
Streater has directed regional productions of Chicago, Bells Are Ringing, Little Shop of Horrors, Forever Plaid, Fame, H.M.S. Pinafore, and others.
The cast includes David Brainard, Carol Cornicelli, Shawn J. Davis, Erik Frandsen, Stephen Hope, Stephen Brian Jones, Stephanie Kiahtipes, Kevin Kean Murphy, Bonnie Nesbitt, Marilyn O'Connell, Brocton Pierce, Erik Schark, Rebecca Simon, Nathan Stith and Martha Velasquez. Designers are Hayoung Yoon (scenic) and Annmarie Duggan (lighting).
Tickets are $15. The Gene Frankel Theater is at 24 Bond Street. Performances play 8 PM Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays, with 7 PM Sunday performances. There will be an additional performance on Tuesday Aug. 5 at 8 PM. For tickets, call Smarttix at (212) 868-4444, or visit www.smarttix.com.
