MIDDLETOWN – “THE GROWN-UP” IS A MAGICAL RIDE THROUGH TIME AND SPACE

Additional Information

SUNY Orange Apprentice Players to Present Jordan Harrison’s Play at Richards Theatre in November

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – The SUNY Orange Apprentice Players will perform “The Grown-Up” this November in the William and Helen Richards Theatre at Orange Hall (formerly Orange Hall Theatre) on the College’s Middletown campus.

Under the direction of David Cohen, the play will enjoy a six-show run during the weekends of Nov. 10-12 and 17-19. Evening performances on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10-11 and 17-18 will begin at 7:30 p.m. with Sunday matinees on Nov. 12 and 19 set for 3 p.m. There will be a “talk back” with the actors and director immediately following the Nov. 11 performance. The cast includes Carter Cohen, Luis Vargas, Jewel Sanchez, Joe Fox, Ian Miller, Frederick Simoni, Christina Polichetti and Christian Williams.

“The Grown-Up”, by Jordan Harrison, is a magical ride through time and space that serves as a stealthy extended metaphor for the power of imagination and storytelling. Harrison is a 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist, and a writer and producer for the Netflix original series “Orange is the New Black.”

“The Grown-Up” asks the fundamental questions of adulthood: is it possible to balance our earlier innocence with earned experience? Can we ever find the way back to the children we once were? The child is Kai, a dreamy 10-year-old boy charmed by a crystal doorknob his grandfather has fashioned into a magic talisman recovered from a pirate ship by a long-gone sailor. When Kai abandons his sister during a game of hide-and-seek to try his hand at the magic doorknob instead, he finds himself transported into an older version of himself. It’s a fast-paced yarn executed flawlessly. Both poignantly sad and zany, Harrison expands on the notion that life is too short to miss any moment.

The audience will be seated on-stage in this unique “3/4 round staging” performance. Seating is limited to 60 people for this production, buy your ticket early. Cash, check or credit cards accepted.

Ticket prices are $12, general admission; $8, senior citizens, faculty and alumni; $4, students; and free for active duty military personnel. Student tickets are only available at the box office. All other tickets may be purchased online at www.sunyorange.edu (click the events link on the home page and follow to online ticketing). For group prices (10 or more) call (845) 341-4790. There is a $2.50 surcharge for each ticket purchased online. Tickets purchased online may be printed at home or picked up at the box office. The box office opens one hour before curtain time.

For more information, contact the Arts and Communication Department at (845) 341-4790. For updates on all cultural and artistic events at SUNY Orange, visit “The Arts at SUNY Orange” Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/theartsatsunyorange. The William and Helen Richards Theatre at Orange Hall is universally accessible. Parking is available in the College parking lot at the intersection of Wawayanda and Grandview avenues.