The Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival

Food, wine, live music, and theatre. A perfect combination.

bestkeptsecrets.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/1.jpg”>Summer is approaching in Virginia, and with it comes the return of a unique annual event that until now has remained a secret to some, but a favorite to many. Located amidst the picturesque Sweet Briar College campus, Endstation Theatre Company’s Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival offers a summer-long schedule of innovative dramatic productions and outdoor theatrical fun. Whether you are a musical theatre junkie, a parent with kids to enrich and entertain, or a lover of food and wine, the festival offers events to please your palate

.

This seasons’s events will be kicked-off with the benefit concert Broadway in the Blue Ridge on May 22 featuring Broadway’s Phantom of the Opera star Sean MacLaughlin. Virginia native and now Raoul in Phantom at the Majestic Theater, Sean comes to Sweet Briar to perform songs from Broadway classics alongside members of the Endstation cast of Assassins, as well as EC Glass High School’s own Phantom production. It is sure to be an exciting night filled with talent and surprises. Read more about Sean in his latest Playbill Article.

The first Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival production is one for the kids and the young at heart. In Good Good Trouble on Bad Bad Island, a bad, bad Idol challenges good, good Rosa with a series of impossible tasks — but what happens when she starts doing the impossible? This wildly inventive adventure finds that sometimes family and good goodness can be found in the most unlikely of places. This original play, written by Endstation’s resident playwright Joshua Mikel, premièred at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2010 and was met with sold-out crowds. June 1-4 @7pm, June 5 @ 2pm.

The second festival production, Whole Theatre’s Cry of the Mountain, is an original piece that tackles the issue of mountaintop coal removal in Appalachian coal country. Accompanied by live music, creator Adelind Horan performs pieces constructed from interviews with individuals whose lives are affected in some way by coal removal. June 9 – 11 @7pm, June 12 @ 2pm

And then, for a little music…Endstation brings Sondheim to Sweet Briar with the historical musical thriller, Assassins. This most American of musicals lays bare the lives of nine infamous historical figures, who forged their way into our history books for their assassinations (or attempted assassinations) of some of our American presidents. Assassins explores the American experience in profound and startling ways, with a musical score by one of the most accomplished musical theatre composers, Stephen Sondheim. June 23, 24, 25, 29, 30, July 1, 2 @7pm, June 26, July 3 @ 2pm.

Rounding out the festival is the classic Shakespeare comedy, Twelfth Night. The Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival tradition of outdoor theatre has become the company’s most popular and beloved event, and for good reason. Each year, Endstation chooses a unique location on the Sweet Briar campus, and builds a theatrical space around it. Past adventures have included Hamlet set in Civil War Virginia at an old campus dairy barn, and Romeo & Juliet on the balcony of the picturesque Benedict Hall. This summer, the characters of Twelfth Night will play by the old Sweet Briar train station, while the audience watches the tale unfold against the backdrop of the mountain sunset. To enhance this outdoor experience, Endstation will bring in local vineyards for nightly wine tastings, and audience members are encouraged to bring blankets and picnics. An evening of food, wine, and theatre under the stars is a magical experience. July 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 @7pm.

This summer Endstation will also be joining forces with Sweet Briar dining services to enhance the Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival experience. For this summer’s production of Assassins, Sweet Briar College will be offering a series of BBQ dinners at the Florence Elston Inn. These dinners will take place prior to the June 25th and July 2nd performances and lunches will take place before the June 26th and July 3rd matinees. To check out these mouth watering menus visit the Endstation website.

On the way to the indoor and outdoor shows, travel through Virginia wine country, hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail, visit Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, or take a drive through the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The Blue Ridge Summer Theatre Festival offers a little something for everyone, and provides a truly unique experience. Find out more by visiting www.endstationtheatre.org or calling (434) 381-6537.