James & Keira Naughton in Playreading at Fairfield Theatre Co., April 9

Fairfield, CT - James Naughton and daughter Keira play father and daughter (for the first time!) in a reading of the new play "River Island" at Fairfield Theatre Co, Tuesday, April 9, 7:30 p.m.

Maria Tucci joins the cast that includes Sonnie Brown, Brennan Brown and Chris Bolan, directed by Jenna Stern.

When James Naughton (Weston, CT) called up Maria Tucci of NYC and asked if she’d like to be in a reading with him, she didn’t hesitate. “I didn’t even have to read it,” she said, “I’ve known Jimmy since we were kids.” James Naughton offers up a photograph of them doing Arthur Miller’s The Crucible at Williamstown in the 1980s. (see attached). Tucci, who was nominated for a Tony in 1967 for Rose Tattoo, was more recently in the series The Slap.

Naughton, the two-time Tony award-winning actor, has also worked with his daughter Keira many times. They’re both stalwarts of the Berkshire Theatre Company. They’ve performed together, sung together, and she’s directed him. But they’ve never played father and daughter before. Though the fraught relationship between the characters in River Island is a far cry from the warmth between the real-life father and daughter.

River Island, the story of a father, a daughter, a house---and the woman who threatens it all, has been described as “a family dramedy, rich in atmosphere, packed with surprises,” by Susan Granger (SCG Syndicate).

Family and art is a theme in River Island, so it’s fitting that another artistic family is involved in this reading. Director Jenna Stern (Fairfield), best known for her work in the Law & Order franchise, playing Judge Barth on SVU for the last 7 years, was raised in Los Angeles, daughter of actress Samantha Eggar. Stern’s husband, the actor Brennan Brown, a familiar face from Amazon’s Man in the High Castle, Mozart in the Jungle and Chicago Med, also joins the cast.

Sonnie Brown plays Ping, a woman from Beijing. She plays the sole Asian in the town of River Island. The character of Ping was inspired by several women from China that playwright Elizabeth Keyser (Fairfield, CT) has known. “I’ve always been struck by how much people give up in their own countries --- good jobs, status, money, family, community---to come to the United States, and how dangerous it can be in unexpected ways.” she says. Ping changes River Island.

For Keyser, this is a dream cast. “I thought James Naughton would be so perfect in the role of Freddie Crabbe,” she says, “And then Jenna had the brilliant idea of James and Keira together.”  Keyser also comes from an artistic family. “River Island is inspired by a real place, a house on a bluff overlooking an inlet. A house full of art and odd collections.”

Co-Producer Carole Schweid of Westport is also thrilled about the cast. Schweid, who runs the popular Play with Your Food series, has a Broadway background too. She was in the opening cast of A Chorus Line. She’s the author of Staged Reading Magic.

For more information: https://elizabethkeyser.com/river-island/   (203) 349-0069