Dirt – A New Play by the Putnam Theatre Alliance

If you live in Putnam County, the land you live on (and its mineral rights) used to belong to the Philipse family. Before that, the Wappinger people cultivated the rich soil of the Hudson River Valley for generations. The struggle for that land as it changed hands is the theme of a new play, DIRT, produced by the Putnam Theatre Alliance to reveal the little-known history of our region.

On the verge of the American Revolution, Daniel Nimham, chief of the Wappinger tribe, Mary Philipse Morris, landowner, and Cesar, a miller enslaved by the Philipse family, had to decide which side they would support in order to preserve their homes: the British rule or the American colonies. Faced with life and death choices, Mary (Maia Guest*), Daniel (Dylan Carusona*), and Cesar (Hasan Gray) struggle with their families and their allegiances in this professional production, directed by Alice Jankell. Other cast members include Jaz Astwood, Jolie Cloutier, Devin Gibbs, Damien Hughes and Gabriel Pages. (* Members of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers.)

DIRT is the culmination of a two-year project written by established playwrights Kate Moira Ryan, Vickie Ramirez, and Nan Nelson-Ewing. The Putnam Theatre Alliance is a partnership of the Philipstown Depot Theatre in Garrison, Arts on the Lake in Kent, and Tompkins Corners Cultural Center in Putnam Valley.