Riverside Theatre's WHAT A GLORIOUS FEELING Opens 10/30

They're singin' in the rain at Bristol Riverside Theatre with the local premiere of the musical What A Glorious Feeling with a book by Jay Berkow, running October 30-November 18.  Directed by BRT Founding Director Susan D. Atkinson, the ensemble cast featuresSummer Broyhill, Vincent D'Elia, Zak Edward, Liz Filios, and Charles Osborne. What A Glorious Feeling captures the charming and poignant story behind the making of Singin' in the Rain, one of the best movie musicals of all time.  Bringing to life the tempestuous love triangle between Gene Kelly, Co-Director Stanley Donen and their dance captain, Jeanne Coyne, juxtaposed with the iconic dances, catchy phrases and toe tapping melodies of the American classic, this musical celebrates the genius of this highly charged collaboration while exploring the emotional complexity of their lives behind the camera.

Previews begin Tuesday, October 30 with opening night on Thursday, November 1.  Performances run Tuesday through Sunday until November 18.  Tickets start at $41, with discounts for students and groups.  Tickets are available by visiting brtstage.org or calling the BRT Box Office at 215-785-0100.  Bristol Riverside Theatre is located at 120 Radcliffe Street in Bristol, PA.

Author Jay Berkow once met Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly's first assistant on Singin' in the Rain, at a party in Manhattan and was intrigued by the choreographer's role in – and sudden disappearance from –Kelly's life.   When Berkow read in a biography that Kelly was married, divorced and then married again rather quickly, he thought there might be a story there.  "The complexity of what occurred behind the scenes during 'Singin' in the Rain' has been untold for so long," said Berkow about writing the book for the show.  "The opportunity to expose the emotions and the back story in an important moment in musical theater history certainly seemed interesting."

Susan D. Atkinson (Director) has a theatrical career spanning 40 years of directing, producing, and teaching on both the east and west coasts, having directed well over 150 plays and musicals in her career, including world and area premieres from such playwrights and composers as Doug Katsoras, Mark St. Germain, Dan Rustin, Michael Hickey and Larry Gatlin.  For BRT, Atkinson recently directed last season's world premiere of A Raw Space and Steel Magnolias as well as such shows as The Good Earth,Wintertime, Irma La Douce, Alive and Well, The Price, 110 in the Shade, A Sunbeam, Inspecting Carol, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Arsenic and Old Lace, A Little Night Music, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Holiday, Talley's Folly and Proof.  In 1998, Ms. Atkinson directed Larry Gatlin's Texas Flyer both at BRT and at Theatre Under The Stars in Houston, Texas.

Stephen Casey (Choreographer) returns to BRT where he last choreographed Rent.  He was the Artistic Director at Bucks County Playhouse from 1996-2010 during which time, as resident director/choreographer he was oversaw 170 productions and directed and choreographed 67 musicals.  He has worked as a director or choreographer at Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, West Virginia Public Theatre, New Hope Arts Center, and DeSales University.

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