07/08/2021
Bristol Valley Theater, the Finger Lakes’ award-winning, professional theater, will present live, outdoor theater in Naples with six plays presented through September 4th. The season will continue this July with Mala, a one-woman drama by Melinda Lopez, starring Rochester actress Mary Mendez Rizzo.
Mendez Rizzo plays Mala, a first generation daughter on the universal journey to care for and say goodbye to a mother that is reaching the end of life. With humor and hope, Mala balances her mother’s care, her own family and career, and her search for closure. An irreverent and life-affirming exploration of how we live, cope and survive in the moment and what it means to put our loved ones first, right to the very end.
“Mala is remarkable. It’s one of those plays that explores an experience that might seem difficult to talk about: caring for an ailing parent, and addresses it with such honesty and humor and grace that it reminds us of how universal that experience truly is,” says Bristol Valley Theater Executive Artistic Director Karin Bowersock. “In the hands of the wonderful actress, Mary Mendez Rizzo, it’s a journey that is heartbreaking, comforting, and inspiring all at once.”
Mala will run in repertory with Dead Air, a mystery/comedy about two radio station employees who accidentally destroy the recording of a murder mystery show just before airtime and must spin their own mystery live on the air. Dead Air, a world-premiere play written and directed by Bristol Valley Theater Executive Artistic Director Karin Bowersock, plays at BVT July 15-31.
The creative teams for both plays running in July consist of scenic designer Tim McMath, lighting designer Christina Watanabe, costume designer Sean Sullivan, sound designer Rich Miller, scenic assistant Jason Dixon, electrics assistant Jonathan Langberg, and costume assistant Zech Saenz. Mala is directed by Kate Rose Reynolds and staged managed by Emma Hegemann.
The 2021 BVT Summer Season will be performed outdoors on a newly constructed outdoor stage and with limited, socially distanced seating at 151 S. Main Street, Naples, NY.
Performances of Mala run from July 14-30. Performance times are July 14th, 16th, 22nd, 24th, 28th, and 30th at 8:00pm and July 17th, 21st, 25th, and 29th at 2:00pm.
Tickets for Bristol Valley Theater’s 2021 Summer Season, both virtual and live, are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online at www.bvtnaples.org or by calling the Box Office at 585-374-6318. BVT will also offer virtual streaming options for all performances for those who prefer to watch from home through their streaming partner at showtix4u.com/events/bvt.
Mala is sponsored by Artizanns and The Middletown Tavern. The Bristol Valley Theater 2021 Summer Season is sponsored by Canandaigua National Bank with additional support from the Sands Family Foundation, The Rimora Foundation, The Max and Marion Farash Foundation, and funds from the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
