(WEEHAWKEN, NJ) -- Hudson Theatre Works presents Shelley by Joanne Hoersch from May 4-21, 2023 at Theatre at The Wilson School in Weehawken. Hudson Theatre Works continues its commitment to producing one new play a year. Coming from the company’s workshop, “Shelley” takes place in 1814.
Aspiring novelist Mary Godwin, runs off to post-Revolutionary France with her lover, Percy Shelley, one of the greatest of the Romantic poets, and her stepsister, Claire Clairmont, seeking adventure and enlightenment, in a new, free country. What they find instead is a decimated, war torn land, and a population desperate for peace. Mary's creative talent is sparked in a way she could never have imagined, haunting her until an unspeakable tragedy forces her to come face to face with the true nature of what she feels compelled to write.
The play features Ryan Natalino (Bunnies, Desire Under the Elms), Daniel Melchiorre (Paterno HBO, Sweat), B.C. Miller, (The Little Foxes, Machinal), Joanne Guarnaccia (Talk Radio, Comedy of Errors), and Todd Hilsee (Caretaker, A Christmas Carol).
The show is directed by Frank Licato with stage and lighting design by Gregory Erbach, Costumes by Ann Lowe, Sound Design by Donald Stark, props by Beatriz Esteban-Messina, Stage Managed by Dawn D’Arrigo and Assistant Stage Managed by Gus McMahon.
Performances take place Thursday through Saturday at 8:00pm;Sunday, May 7 and May 14 at 3:00pm; and Sunday 21 at 1:00pm. Tickets are $25; $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Theatre at The Wilson School is located at 80 Hauxhurst Avenue in Weehawken, New Jersey.
Joanne Hoersch (Playwright) received her BA in drama from Emerson College. She studied fiction at Columbia University, where she was the recipient of a Woolrich Fellowship for creative writing. While at Columbia, her short story “Josie Going Places” was awarded best story of the year, in a university-wide competition. She was also a semi-finalist in the Heekin Foundation’s national short story contest. In 1998, she received a grant from the NJ State Council on the Arts, for fiction writing. Her first full length play, Jackson Is Gone, was produced by Hudson Theatre Works, and for it she received her second grant, from the NJ State Council on the Arts, in 2012, for playwriting. Her second play Starring Elizabeth was read at Playwrights’ Theatre of New Jersey, the Lark Theater in New York and at Hudson Theatre Works’ PlayWorks series.
Her play Bunnies, based on her experiences as a Playboy Bunny in New York in the early 70’s, was produced by Hudson Theatre Works in 2021 and was recently published by Next Stage Press. It is also available at the Drama Bookshop in NYC. Joanne has published two novels under her pseudonym, Charlotte Glass, The Dream Room and Glorious, both available on Amazon. Joanne is a member of the Dramatists Guild.
Hudson Theatre Works has low ticket prices because that’s the way they want them to be and they are committed to making their theatre affordable to all. It’s a conscious decision, not spur of the moment. Broadway ticket prices are unaffordable for far too many people. They want to see people from all economic levels in their audience, from all different backgrounds. HTW is built on the idea of community and shared conversation. Attending a play sparks ideas, examines the experience of our common humanity. In these difficult times, who doesn’t need to be reminded of that?
