– THREE PERFORMANCES LEFT –
August 22nd at 7:00pm
August 23rd at 7:00pm
August 24th at 3:00pm
Don’t miss the chance to experience this unique and powerful world premiere!
WILLIAMSVILLE HALL
35 Dover Road
Williamsville, VT 05351
(ADA compliant)
TICKET
General Admission: $17
Students: $14
Content warning: This show contains offensive language, mention of sexual assault, and depictions of police brutality; it is not suitable for children.
Seating is limited – Tickets available at the door.
– ABOUT THE PLAY –
The year is 1913.
Young immigrant and activist Mollie Steimer arrives in America with her family, seeking freedom from Czarist tyranny and a new life in “The Golden Land,” but instead finds a nation rife with injustice.
Driven by a passion for a new social order, Steimer joins the Frayhayt Anarchist Group and is arrested for publishing leaflets in an attempt to organize laborers to strike in protest of inhumane working conditions.
Her subsequent trial and imprisonment inspired a landmark Supreme Court dissent, making her an icon of free speech, too-often overlooked in history.
Following her life in the U.S. until her deportation in 1921, Steimer’s story is told through a combination of historical episodes and dreamlike interludes.
Performed in a three-quarter thrust stage configuration production is designed to envelop the audience in this powerful story.
The expressionistic montage of scenes is woven together by richly-layered live instrumentals and improvisatory soundscapes performed by the Chris Ferrari Trio of New York City.
Join us and discover this timely story of one remarkable young woman’s fight for justice within an utterly corrupt society.
Photos by Silas Ray-Burns
– SNEAK PEEKS –
Check out these behind-the-scenes clips to hear from the Co-Directors and to catch a glimpse of the performance that awaits you!
Videos by Don & Eamon McCullough
– IN THE MEDIA –
‘We can’t just lie down’
By Annie Landenberger – The Commons – August 12, 2025
History is eerily familiar in Rock River Players’
‘The Freeing of Mollie Steimer’
By Chris Mays – Brattleboro Reformer – August 13, 2025
– THE COMPANY –
The cast of The Freeing of Mollie Steimer includes: Saskia Bailey-de Bruijn, Kay Beckett, Peter Broussard, Walter Cramer, Geof Dolman, Amy Donahue, Shafiya Finger, Sean Fitzharris, Magdalena Keppel, Dyana Lee, Randy Lichtenwalner, Leo Mousseau, Shey Nessralla, John Ogorzalek, Casey Parles, Dave Ramsdell, Jeff Seabaugh, T. Breeze Verdant, and Rose Watson.
Original music composed for the production will be performed live by a NYC-based trio made up of Chris Ferrari, Leo Weisskof, and Alex Yoo.
The production team and collaborators include:
- Playwright & Co-Director: Patrick Keppel
- Producer & Co-Director: Annie Landenberger
- Stage Manager, Prop Master & Lighting Operator: Jess Guerrero
- Lighting Design: Jerry Stockman & Jess Guerrero
- Lighting Assistant: Bree Lacey
- Costumier: Belle Coles
- Set Construction: Shey Nessralla
- PR: Emmadora Boutcher & Annie Landenberger
- Poster & Program Design: Amy Donahue
- Ticket Sales: Bahman Mahdavi
- Concessions: Sue Kelly, Chérie Moran, Kris McDermet, and Jesse Kartoffel
– TICKETS –
General Admission: $17
Students: $14
Content warning: This show contains offensive language, mention of sexual assault, and depictions of police brutality; it is not suitable for children.
– Performances take place at –
The Williamsville Hall
35 Dover Road, Williamsville, VT 05351
(ADA compliant)