THEATRE ASPEN ANNOUNCES LINEUP FOR THIRD ANNUAL SOLO FLIGHTS FESTIVAL OF ONE-PERSON SHOWS

NEW WORKS BY MIKE DISALVO, MICHAEL GASTON, KIM POWERS, SANDRA SEATON, MICHAEL SHAYAN, AND MUSIC LEGEND GUY DAVIS


SEPTEMBER 10-15, 2022
AT THE HURST THEATRE IN ASPEN

TICKETS ON SALE AUGUST 3

Aspen, CO (August 2, 2022) – Theatre Aspen (Jed Bernstein, Producing Director) announced the line-up for its third annual Solo Flights, the organization’s developmental one-person show festival, running September 10-15, 2022, at the Hurst Theatre in Aspen, Colorado. Tickets will be available for purchase beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, August 3rd.

“Solo Flights is always a highlight of the Theatre Aspen season. It is a privilege to welcome so many theatre makers from around the US and provide the opportunity for them to develop new work." said Jed Bernstein, Theatre Aspen’s Producing Director.

This year’s Solo Flights will feature six new works, all receiving early developmental support from Theatre Aspen: Sparrows at the Bar, written by Mike DiSalvo (Broadway’s Twelve Angry Men); Sidekicked, written by Kim Powers; Sally: A Solo Play, written by Sandra Seaton (From The Diary of Sally Hemings); Low Expectations, written by Gotham Award nominee Michael Gaston (“Power”); Avaaz, written by Michael Shayan (Discovery+’s “The Book of Queer”); and Sugarbelly and Other Tales My Father Told Me, written by acclaimed blues musician and two-time Grammy Award® nominee Guy Davis.

Casting and creative teams will be announced shortly.

Solo Flights is an annual week-long developmental festival of one-person shows presented in the beginning stages of their making. Launched in 2019 the festival has brought a variety of diverse works and celebrated actors and directors to Theatre Aspen. Artists have included Beau Bridges, Kaye Winks, Sarah Stiles, Christine Quintana, Emma Ramos, Richard Greenberg, Lameece Issaq, Kate Baldwin, Taylor Trensch, and more!

In addition to the performances, Solo Flights features signature events including talkbacks, creative discussions & panels, and special receptions.

Theatre Aspen’s Solo Flights Festival is presented in part by Rachel and Rick Klausner, Nancy Wall and Chuck Wall, Karen Brooks, The Susan and Jon Diamond Philanthropic Fund, and Maja and Nicolas DuBrul.

Theatre Aspen’s 39th Season is currently underway and runs through August 23rd at the Hurst Theatre in Rio Grande Park. The season continues with the Tony Award®-winning musical Jersey Boys on the mainstage, as well as the summer Cabaret Series at Hotel Jerome and additional programming and special events for the summer.

As Theatre Aspen approaches its 40th season in 2023, it continues to rekindle a sense of discovery in audiences who live in and visit the Roaring Fork Valley by producing big theatre in a small space with intimate storytelling. Each season at Theatre Aspen promises to bring world-class theatre dramatically closer, with innovative and imaginative productions of both plays and musicals, complemented by an assortment of community events including late-night cabarets, educational programs and performances, collaborations with other Aspen arts organizations, and new works presentations. Theatre Aspen also boasts an impressive Apprentice Program, one of the largest in the country, devoted to training the next generation of theatrical artists and administrators. 



To learn more about Theatre Aspen or to purchase tickets, visit TheatreAspen.org or call (970) 300-4474.


ABOUT EACH SOLO FLIGHT 

Avaaz
Written by Michael Shayan (Discovery+’s “The Book of Queer”)

It’s Nowruz—the Iranian New Year—and who better to spend it with than our fabulous hostess, Roya? She’ll teach you how to celebrate in style. They say that on Nowruz, the souls of ancestors come alive and visit. Perhaps that’s what’s happening here tonight. Or maybe it’s just the strong Persian chai.


Low Expectations
Written by Gotham Award nominee Michael Gaston (“Power”)

In 2009, Michael Gaston, an actor, was encouraged by his boss to write about his family. So, he did. Slowly. Thirteen years later, he produced two pieces, a monologue, and a short story, and wove them into a play. The monologue is all true. The short story is not. The true story starts with one relative’s Union Army service, then another’s immigration to America from Belfast during the Great Depression, then heads to Tulsa, Hollywood, New York City, and finishes in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. The short story starts in Northern California and stays there. Both are about a lot of things, a whole lot of things, but, mostly, they’re about the measurable healing power of empathy, kindness, and love. With an original score written and performed live by Daniel Pearce, Gaston brings these stories together with Low Expectations.


Sally: A Solo Play
Written by Sandra Seaton (From The Diary of Sally Hemings)

A one-woman drama set at Monticello in the days before Thomas Jefferson’s death on July 4, 1826. The play explores the thoughts and feelings of a mature Sally Hemings as she reflects on her life with Thomas Jefferson. In Jefferson’s final days, Sally Hemings is determined to insure that his long-ago promise to free all their children at the age of 21 will be kept after his death.


Sidekicked
Written by Kim Powers

It’s Friday night, March 2, 1960, and the very final episode of “The Lucy/Desi Comedy Hour” is about to film. And after years of playing Ethel Mertz, America’s favorite sidekick, Vivian Vance has a lot to get off her chest. Does she stay on to do the “Fred and Ethel” spin-off Desi Arnaz wants her to do – or does she abandon everything that’s made her rich and famous and try to find herself, before it’s too late?


Sparrows at the Bar
Written by Mike DiSalvo (Broadway’s Twelve Angry Men)

McCreary telling the story of his life, his love, and the unexpected shot at redemption that he finds in a rural pub in Ireland. Over the course of the evening we’ll hear how Frank got into the newspaper game, how he covered City Hall for the New York Post, how he met, left, met again, and ultimately lost the love of his life, and how his search for peace led him to this particular seat in this particular bar. His story takes us from Baltimore to New York, to Donegal, Ireland. Guinness is poured, and spirits are consumed.


Sugarbelly and Other Tales My Father Told Me
Written by Guy Davis, acclaimed blues musician and two-time Grammy Award® nominee


This story is introduced to the audience by Peck Wallace, the teller of tales, who plays a banjo and sings us a song that tells the story of a young girl’s murder. Set in the oil-rich Texas of the early 20th century, we’re told of ‘The Handsome Jack Lodi Medicine Show’ coming to town. Work songs and blues music are incorporated as we learn about the laborers, prostitution, moonshine, and racism that affect the lives of the black and white occupants of Grandview County. There is a villain named Moxol Getty whose actions lead to deadly consequences. The author then takes over the storytelling, and tells of the real murder and murderer who terrorized the author’s family for years, and inspired the writing of Sugarbelly. His family’s resiliency and storytelling abilities are what have carried them through.


ABOUT THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON


MAINSTAGE

Jersey Boys 
The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons 
August 1 – August 23  



Book by Marshall Brickman & Rick Elice 
Music by Bob Gaudio 
Lyrics by Bob Crewe 

Director: Hunter Foster 
Choreographer: Ray Mercer 
Music Director: Eric Alsford 

With phenomenal music, memorable characters, and great storytelling, Jersey Boys follows the fascinating evolution of four blue-collar kids who became one of the greatest successes in pop-music history. Winner of Best Musical at both the Tony Awards® and Olivier Awards®, Jersey Boys takes you behind the music of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons to discover the secret of a 40-year friendship as the foursome work their way from the streets of New Jersey to the heights of stardom. Audiences will be thrilled with electrifying performances of chart-topping hits including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” “Dawn,” and “My Eyes Adored You,” which brought The Four Seasons the highest honor: induction into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. 


SPECIAL EVENTS

Theatre Aspen Summer Cabaret Series

August 7 & 14 
Hotel Jerome, Auberge Resort Collection 

Theatre Aspen Education
Bright Star
August 4 - 6 

Aspen Chapel

Solo Flights
September 10 – 15
Theatre Aspen’s Hurst Theatre