The Bon Ton Room presents. . .

“American Dreams”

By Studs Terkel

Adapted for the stage by Peter Frisch  

Directed by Barbara Sexton

Thursday and Friday, July 22-23, 2010

8:00 p.m.  $10 Cover

The Bon Ton Room, 3017 Wildwood Avenue, Jackson, Michigan

  (517) 787-6733 or thebontonroom.pr@gmail.com for reservations

An entertaining, thought-provoking show adapted from the book by the iconic Studs Terkel by Peter Frisch, this engrossing evening of monologues will be performed by some of Jackson's finest actors and actresses:  Timm Richardson, Steve Kamke, Roxanne Bruner, Jerrell Rodriguez and Erin Wetzel.  With uniquely American music performed throughout by talented Jackson musicians Vic McDermott and JT McCluskey. 

Made up of monologues connected by brief concerted sections, and divided into six segments (fantasies, nightmares, hallucinations, sweet dreams, broken reveries and visions), the play uses the voices of real people to convey, with striking effectiveness, a sense of what America and its people are, both in truth and in fantasy.  The various segments and speeches blend into a moving theatrical experience which is revealing, often very funny, frequently moving and sometimes disturbing—but which always speaks from and to the heart of this great and singular nation in all its richness and diversity.  Ranging from the rich and famous (Ted Turner, Arnold Schwarzenegger) to the obscure (a farmer, a bellhop, a Hare Krishna disciple) to hard-bitten cynics and hopeful optimists, the diverse monologues weave an evocative tapestry out of the simple truths and cogent observations which emerge when people speak their minds with honesty and candor.

"Peter Frisch has sifted through that gold in Terkel's book American Dreams: Lost and Found and picked out the best nuggets … The result is a simple play that is deeply moving" ~ Chicago Daily Herald

"American Dreams is a rich theatrical tapestry …" ~ Chicago Sun-Times

Please join us for this limited engagement performance.