Riverside Theatre presents Stephen Sachs’s Bakersfield Mist
(Vero Beach, FL) Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, presents the new comedy-drama by Stephen Sachs, Bakersfield Mist. Sponsored by Dick & Stephanie Solar and by Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group, Bakersfield Mist performs on the Waxlax Stage from January 31 – February 19, 2023.
Inspired by true events, this hilarious new play follows character Maude Gutman, a fifty-something unemployed bartender, who buys a painting for a few bucks from a thrift store. Despite almost trashing it, she’s now convinced it’s a lost masterpiece by Jackson Pollock worth millions. But when world-class art expert Lionel Percy flies over from New York and arrives at her trailer home in Bakersfield to authenticate the painting, he has no idea what he is about to discover.
What is the true story on which the play is based?
In 1992, retired California trucker, Teri Horton, went searching for a gift to cheer up a friend. Horton thought she’d found the perfect gag gift – a big painting of nothing but squiggles, swipes and drips – and paid five dollars for it.
The friend hated the piece and refused to put it in her trailer at which point Horton added it to a garage sale she was having. When an art teacher passed by, she tells Horton, “you might have a Jackson Pollock painting here.” Horton’s response was, “who the (expletive) is Jackson Pollock?”
When Horton discovers her artwork might be a $50 million piece of artwork, she contacts Thomas Hoving, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, to come and authenticate the painting. One of the difficulties is that the artwork is unsigned.
A 2006 documentary, Who the #$% Is Jackson Pollock?, chronicles Horton’s efforts to have the art world agree that her thrift-store bargain was an original work by a master artist.
Although no art expert would authenticate the piece, Horton received offers of up to $9 million for the painting, but never sold it as she was looking for a “fair price.” Horton passed away in July 2019 still in possession of the artwork.
Playwright Stephen Sachs takes this true story and turns it into an uproarious and thought-provoking play about the collision of class cultures and attitudes.
Riverside’s production of Bakersfield Mist will be directed and scenically designed by Allen D. Cornell and stars Laurie Dawn as Maude Gutman and Steve Brady as Lionel Percy.
The design and production crew includes: Anna Hillbery (Costume Design), Sarah Jean Elliott (Lighting Design), Sam Hopewell (Sound Design) and Audrey M. Brown (Production Stage Manager).
Bakersfield Mist performs January 31 – February 19, 2023 on the Waxlax Stage at Riverside Theatre. Tickets are $65. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com. NOTE: This show contains adult language.
Performances are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 7:30pm; Opening Night (the first Tuesday performance), Fridays, and Saturdays at 8pm; with matinees on Wednesdays, select Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm.
Performance Schedule:
January 31, February 1, 2, 8, 9, 14, 15 & 16 @ 7:30pm
February 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15, 18 & 19 @ 2pm
February 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 & 18 @ 8pm
Bakersfield Mist is sponsored Dick and Stephanie Solar and is presented by Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group: Riverside Theatre’s Patron Producers Group: Brad and Fran Anderson, Anonymous, Lois Appleby, Linda Aronberg, Anita Astrachan^, Carol Atkinson, Barbara Baldwin, David and Cynthia Bardes, Paul and Jayne Becker, Sam and Susie Bell, Dick and Sue Bergeman, Ted and Debbie Berghorst, Eric and Fuzzy Billings, Jerry and Anne Blatherwick, John and Anita Brennan, Peter and Susie Brinckerhoff, Camille Broadbent, Bill and Laura Buck, Tim and Carol Buhl, Tony and Joyce Caldarone, Bill and Karen Campbell, Chris and Faris Chesley, Don and Rose Ciampa, Dottie Currie, Dick and Maryanne Davis, Willem and Marion de Vogel, Don and Vicky DeMuth, John and Sue Dobbs, VJ and Veronica Dowling, Bill and Laura Frick, Michael and Mary Fuller, Bob and Wheatie Gibb, Jennifer Grant, Mary Jane “MJ”^ Grant, Herb and Anne Gullquist, Bill and Eva Gurley, Duke and Gael Habernickel, Robert and Pat Hall, Dick and Rosemary Haverland, Calvin and Sally Hills, Joan and Michael Hoben, Dave Horner and Constance Pitcher, Ron Hunt and Lisa Amorosa, Pete Justi, Dave and Barb Kaytes, John and Pam Kean, Robert and Nell Kleinschmidt, Judy and Lou LaFage, Bill and Joy Lane, Charlie Long, Betty MacMillan, Jacqueline Malloy, Jim Marver and Shirin Kaufman, Marilyn McConnell, Ray and Sonia McGowan, Mike and Sandy McManus, Brooke Megrue, Ted and Dawn Michael, Cliff and Sheridan Morris, Bob and Susan Morrison, Wally and Peggy Nelson, Jay Newman and Elissa Kramer, Bobbie Olsen, Don and Connie Patterson, Pat and Ed Pavlish, Michael and Kathie Pierce, Helen Post, Ted and Carol Price, John and Barbara Reed, Bill and Peg Regan, Michael and Anne Rhoads, Bob and Karen Ritter, John Roberts and Juli Blunt, Mary and Randy Rogers, Randy and Sandy Rolf, Ron and Nancy Rosner, Bill and Judy^ Schneebeck, Van Schreiber, Virginia and Warren Schwerin, Ned and Emily Sherwood, Dick and Nancy Shoemate, Anna Bain Slater, Joe and Mary Alice Smith, Stephanie Smith, Dick and Stephanie Solar, Charlotte Stifel, Bill and Carolyn Stutt, Doug and Dhuanne Tansill, John and Tobey Taylor, Charlie and Sue Thomas, Janet Tribus, Marjorie P. Turley, Steve and Anne Warhover, Heidi Waxlax, Lorne Waxlax, Pat and Carol Welsh, Liz and Ken Whitney, Gail D. Williams ^ deceased
The 22-23 Season is sponsored by: Wilmington Trust, Noteworthy by Design, ONE Sotheby’s International Realty, Northern Trust, Vatland Honda, Cypress Bank, Star Suites, Nelson Morgan Wealth Management – Merrill Lynch, Vero Fitness, PNC Private Bank, Vero’s Voice and Treasure & Space Coast Radio (WGYL, JACK FM, Ocean FM, B94, WTTB).
Riverside Theatre is located at 3250 Riverside Park Drive, Vero Beach, FL 32963. Riverside Theatre programs are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Riverside Theatre is a member of the Cultural Council of Indian River County, the Indian River Chamber of Commerce, and the Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Stephen Sachs is an award-winning playwright, director, and the co-Artistic Director of the Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles, which he co-founded with Deborah Lawlor in 1990. He is the author of eleven produced plays, including Heart Song (Fountain Theatre and Florida Rep), Cyrano (LA Drama Critics Circle Award, Best New Play) and Bakersfield Mist (2012 Elliot Norton Award, Best New Play), Miss Julie: Freedom Summer (Fountain Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse), Gilgamesh (Theatre at Boston Court), Open Window (Pasadena Playhouse, Media Access Award), Central Avenue (PEN USA Literary Award Finalist), Sweet Nothing In My Ear (PEN USA Literary Award Finalist, Media Access Award), Mother’s Day, The Golden Gate (Best Play Award, Dramalogue), and The Baron In The Trees. He wrote the teleplay for “Sweet Nothing In My Ear” for the Hallmark Hall of Fame, which aired on CBS starring Marlee Matlin and Jeff Daniels. Directing credits include: the Los Angeles premiere of My Name Is Asher Lev, the US premieres of Athol Fugard’s The Blue Iris, The Train Driver, Victory (NAACP Award for Best Director), the world premiere of Fugard’s Exits And Entrances (Ovation Award and LA Drama Critics Circle Award, Best Director), the West Coast premiere of Fugard’s Coming Home (Best Director, LA Weekly Award), and the Los Angeles premiere of Fugard’s The Road To Mecca; Itamar Moses’ Completeness, Warren Leight’s Side Man starring Christine Lahti and Frank Wood, a 3-city China tour of Top Secret(LA Theatre Works), Conor McPherson’s Shining City (LA Premiere), the world premiere of Miss Julie: Freedom Summer at the Fountain, the Canadian Stage Company in Toronto, and the Vancouver Playhouse; Arthur Miller’s After The Fall (Ovation Award, Best Director), Bakersfield Mist, and Sweet Nothing In My Ear (Fountain Theatre, Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago, Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis); the inaugural production of Hippolytos at the Outdoor Classical Theater at the Getty Villa in Malibu, and many others. Sachs has twice been nominated for the SDC Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes outstanding directors who make unique and exceptional contributions to theatre in their region.
