Plays by Foote, Eason, Sharif, Weitzman and Elyanow Set for Hartford's Brand:NEW Fest | Playbill

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News Plays by Foote, Eason, Sharif, Weitzman and Elyanow Set for Hartford's Brand:NEW Fest While Hartford Stage is busy presenting the world premiere of late playwright Horton Foote's sprawling nine-play work The Orphans' Home Cycle, the company will also offer theatergoers the chance to witness emerging works from today's young playwrights — including Foote's daughter, Daisy Foote — in its its Brand:NEW fall festival.

The 5-day Brand:NEW festival will run Oct. 16-20.

Up first will be Hana Sharif's The Rise and Fall of Day, under the direction of Eric Ting, on Oct. 16 at 7:30 PM. "Through the eyes of Sam," press notes state, "a celebrated yet dispassionate artist, we witness the threadbare marriage of his parents and the complicated ties that bind his family together. As the only child in a family consumed with secret and silence, Sam methodically strips away the masks to reveal the truths that lie just beneath the surface of their lives."

Ken Weitzman's account of baseball history, The Catch, will be offered Oct. 17 at 8 PM. "In 2001, when Barry Bonds broke the single-season home run record in San Francisco, two fans both claimed to have retrieved record-breaking ball, estimated to be worth up to three million dollars at auction. The Catch, inspired by these true events, tells the hilarious and heartbreaking stories of these two fans, their legal battle, and the country at a precarious moment in history."

Evan Yionoulis will stage Daisy Foote's Him, which will be presented Oct. 18 at 2 PM. "Pauline and Henry are siblings struggling to keep the family store afloat amidst debt, competition from large chain stores, and their father’s recent stroke. Their salvation lies in tracts of land kept hidden by their father, but they must decide what is a priority—their now-deceased father’s final wishes, or financial stability—a choice that may ultimately tear them apart."

The past and present meet in Michael Elyanow's A Lasting Mark, to be staged Oct. 18 at 5 PM. "On April 4, 1968, the night of Martin Luther King’s assassination, two families of neighbors – one Jewish, one African-American – face impending riots in Hartford's north end. On April 4, 2008, the same families, now living in the suburbs, face another crisis: an impending death in the family. A Lasting Mark alternates between two time periods to weave a personal story about the intersection between civil rights and the Holocaust, escape and survival, and hope and sacrifice." Laura Eason's stage adaptation of Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, directed by Jeremy B. Cohen, will be seen Oct. 19 at 7:30 PM. "Eason’s fanciful re-imagination of Mark Twain’s novel puts the classic work in a vibrant new light. Tom’s escapades, full of adventures with favorites like Huckleberry Finn and Becky Thatcher, are vividly brought to life by a cast of eight, who create a world full of Twain’s unforgettable characters. This beloved story conjures memories of childhood playfulness that will delight audiences of all ages."

Brand:NEW will host a playwrights panel Oct. 19 at 11 AM, and will culminate in Write On!, a performance of the winning plays in Hartford Stage's teen playwrighting competition on Oct. 20 at 7 PM.

Hartford Stage is located at 50 Church Street in downtown Hartford, CT. For more information visit www.hartfordstage.org.

 
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