Ragged Ascent Opens May 16

Mt. Vernon - "Ragged Ascent, a new play from the Iowa Goatsinger, opens May 16 at 7 pm at the Uptown Theatre in the First Street Community Center, 221 1st Street NE, Mount Vernon. The play incorporates a mix of theatre, movement, puppetry, and new and traditional music.

Written by Mount Vernon local Mike Moran, Ragged Ascent tells the timeless story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The tale is about a musician who loses his wife and, in rage and despair, goes down to the Underworld and faces Lord and Lady Death to demand her return. A mix of poignant and playful, mythological and modern, Old World and Iowa, the play explores loss, doubt, religious belief and literalism, and the redemptive power of music and art. The play showcases songs written by Moran and Mount Vernon resident Josh Woosley, as well as traditional American music. It features performances by Kim Benesh, Joe Jennison, Mike Moran, Anton Rood, Braden Rood, Amy White, and Josh Woosley – all from Mount Vernon.

Director Mike Moran, explains, “The Iowa Goatsinger is probably better known through the seasonal goatsinger shows, which are these vaudeville-like mix-ups of theatre and poetry and puppetry and music. They’re very eclectic and loose. And, although 'Ragged Ascent' is just as playful and quirky as the goatsinger shows, it’s a specific move towards a full integration of all those elements into one storyline. And the story itself is both a joy and a heartbreak.”

Show times are Friday, May 16 at 7 pm; Saturday, May 17 at 2 pm and 7 pm. Admission is ten dollars at the door. More information is available at (319)213-0148."


Source: Goatsinger press release