DIRT: A Special Play for America’s 250th

Putnam Theater Alliance returns with DIRT in staged readings across Putnam County.

As part of the Putnam REV250 project, the Putnam Theater Alliance will present three staged readings of its successful 2024 production, DIRT, at three different locations in Putnam County during the first weekend in June.

The readings will be held across Putnam County, including at Boscobel on Sunday, June 7th at 1 pm.

On the verge of the American Revolution, all the land in what would become Putnam County belonged to the Philipse family after it was taken from the Wappinger people who had cultivated the rich soil of the Hudson River Valley for generations. This little-known history of our region was crafted into a play about the struggle for that land written by established playwrights Kate Moira Ryan, Vickie Ramirez, and Nan Nelson-Ewing.

Several professional actors in the cast of the 2024 production will repeat their roles in the staged readings, directed by Alice Jankell.  Hasan Gray, Jaz Astwood, Jolie Coulter, Devin Gibbs, Damien Hughes and Gabriel Pages will be joined by Liz Keifer as Mary Philipse and Matt C. Cross as Chief Daniel Nimham.

The Putnam Theater Alliance was formed in 2020 by Arts on the Lake in Kent, the Philipstown Depot Theater in Garrison, and Tompkins Corners Cultural Center in Putnam Valley, to share resources, talent, and stages to provide the Hudson Valley with relevant, vibrant and original plays, musical performances, and events. The full production of DIRT sold out all performances in 2024 at the Alliance’s three theaters.

Ticket information for the readings in June will be forthcoming. Partial funding for this program is provided by the Revolutionary Putnam County 250 of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.