The Williamstown Theatre Festival will present F. Murray Abraham in the American premiere of Arthur Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, directed by Scott Elliott on the Festival's Main Stage, July 17-28.
The Ride Down Mt. Morgan is a character study about the consequences one man faces for living a life of unbridled excess. The cast includes Abraham (Academy Award winner for Amadeus) as Lyman, Larry Bryggman as Tom, Patricia Clarkson as Leah, Ben Hammer as The Father, Michael Learned as Theo, Adina Porter as Nurse and Amy Ryan as Bessie.
The play's world premiere was at the Wyndham Theatre in London Oct. 23, 1991. Since then, the author has rewritten his play. "In this play, I wanted to experiment with a particular kind of storytelling, which springs from one viewpoint to another," Miller, is quoted in a release. "The focus of this play is on the text and the characters . . . The play is basically a vision, rather than any kind of realistic work."
The 81-year-old Miller won the Pulitzer Prize for Death of a Salesman in 1949. Among his other plays: All My Sons, The Crucible, A View From the Bridge and the recent Broken Glass.
Director Scott Elliott has been making a name for himself for the last few years. Recently, he directed the Off-Broadway production of Curtains which won him a 1996 Obie award as Best Director. His production of The Monogamist at Playwrights Horizons won him the Lucille Lortel Award as Best Director. His production of Ecstasy won a 1995 Obie award as well as winning him the Calloway Award for excellence in directing. Elliott will make his Broadway debut this season with a bang -- two bangs, actually -- directing both the Roundabout Theatre's production of Chekhov's Three Sisters and the revival of Noel Coward's comedy Present Laughter. Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan will run July 17-28 at Adams Memorial Theatre, Williams College, Williamstown, MA. For ticket information, call the Adams Memorial Theatre box office at (413) 597-3400. For other updates on the festival, call the festival's 24-hour information line at (413) 597-3399.
