Ancram Center for the Arts Regionally Premieres "Where the Mountain Meets the Sea"

ANCRAM, NY - Ancram Center for the Arts held its regional premiere of Jeff Augustin's play, “Where the Mountain Meets the Sea,” Friday, July 11 inside Grange Hall.

The production, directed by film and theater veteran, Christopher Windom, will hold its final week of showings beginning Thursday, July 17 (7:30 p.m.), and will also run Friday, July 18 (7:30 p.m.), Saturday, July 19 (7:30 p.m.), and concludes Sunday, July 20 (3:00 p.m.).

This poignant play centers around Jean (played by Tai Bennett), a father and Haitian schoolteacher who legally gains passage to the United States and gives up a fulfilling vocation to become a baggage handler in Miami. While living in Miami, Jean struggles to adjust to American life and finding love. Decades later, his gay son, Jonah (played by Kristofer Wilson), who moved across the country to study at UCLA, makes a road trip back to Miami to retrieve his father's remains and returns them to Haiti.

As told through alternating monologues and songs addressed directly to the audience, this story combines both spoken text and live music performed by onstage musicians to capture the ache and frustration of these characters as they ultimately forge a connection that had eluded them for years.

From left to right: Kristofer Wilson and Tai Bennett. Photo taken by B. Docktor

"Where the Mountain Meets The Sea" features two nationally recognized theater artists, Tai Bennett and Kristopher Wilson. Bennett, from Los Angeles, CA, is known for his television work, "Power Book 2: Ghost", "All American", and the Netflix drama, "A House of Dynamite", starring Idris Elba and directed by Kathryn Bigelow.

Wilson, a North Carolina native, previously trained at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting while pursuing his BFA at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Wilson, a founding member of the Lucien Theatre Company, also took part in regional stage work, which included "The Comedy of Errors". "The Winter's Tale", and "OAK" at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA.

Also performing alongside Bennett and Wilson are songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Kaia Dedek, and songwriter and guitarist, Andy Stack, portraying onstage musicians and vocalists.

About Jeff Augustin and The Bengsons

Jeff Augustin, a Haitian American playwright who wrote "Where the Mountain Meets The Sea", has had his work staged by the Manhattan Theatre Club, Roundabout Theatre Company, La Jolla Playhouse and Berkeley Rep.

Abigail and Shaun Bengson, known musically as The Bengsons, are a married composing and performing duo, received the Jonathan Larson and Richard Rodgers Awards. They were nominated for the Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel Awards. The couple's most recent project was for the feature film “Respect” starring Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin.

Additional Information

Tickets for the play are $20 for students (with student ID), $29: Sponsored, $49 general admission, and $69 Pay-It-Forward. For additional information on ticket purchasing, go to https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?actions=4&p=5.

The Ancram Center for the Arts is located at 1330 County Route 7, Ancram, NY 12502. For more information about Ancram Center for the Arts and "Where the Mountain Meets The Sea" can be found at Where the Mountain Meets the Sea — Ancram Center for the Arts.