An Almost Holy Picture
by Heather McDonald

Freely Drawn From Pamela Ward's Story "The Hairy Little Girl"

ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY!
Saturday. January 28, 2006
8 PM
Unison Arts and Learning Center
Mountain Rest Roadin New Paltz
Admission: $11 - Unison Members and $15 - Non-members
Call 255-1559 for reservations
* * *

Directed by Christine Crawfis
With Paul Coleman as Samuel Gentle

 “A father's love can be a fairly spectacular thing.”

 
So says Samuel Gentle in Heather McDonald's An Almost Holy Picture, a play which takes us into the mind of Samuel Gentle, a former priest, avid gardener, and father of a girl with a very rare medical condition.  In a work of eloquence, wry wit, and rare beauty, McDonald invites the audience to join Samuel on a journey into the light as he struggles with his faith and wrestles with both his angels and his demons.

Named Best New American Play in 1999 by the National Arts Club with their Kesslering Award and nominated for the 2002 Pulitzer Prize, An Almost Holy Picture is a sometimes poignant, sometimes comic telling of one man's quest.

Heather McDonald has garnered other awards for An Almost Holy Picture, which premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 1995 including the designation by the Los Angeles Times as the Best New Play of the Year. McDonald's other works include When Grace Comes In, Faulkner's Bicycle, Dream of a Common Language and the libretto for the opera The End of the Affair. McDonald and the Cleveland Playhouse were recently awarded a collaboration grant from the NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights.

Dr. Paul Coleman is a psychologist in private practice specializing in anxiety disorders and marriage and family concerns. The author of nine books, he has appeared on Oprah, Today, Geraldo, Good Day New York, and radio stations across the country. He is a columnist for Marriage magazine, a Q&A expert for iParenting.com, and a frequent expert in articles appearing in Cosmopolitan, Men’s Health, and Parents. He is the author of How to Say It to Your Kids and The 30 Secrets of Happily Married Couples.

	"Heather McDonald creates a vision of spirituality that     brims with imagination, humor and hope! " Elysa Gardner, USA Today
"Ms. McDonald writes in a hypnotic style woven from simple cadenced prose and slightly off-center details...Audience members who are pursuing their own quests for spiritual comfort in the face of loss and destruction will surely find elements here that resonate for them." - NY Times
	"It is about God, angels, miracles and wrestling with one's faith... " New York Magazine
"Ms. McDonald writes beautifully... One of the best of the season. " Clive Barnes, The New York Post	Paul Coleman

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