The New York Premiere of a Psychological Thriller at Hudson Stage Company
Writer Patricia Highsmith’s first novel, Strangers on a Train, became a Hitchcock movie, but it was perhaps her The Talented Mr. Ripley series that made her most famous. It is this iconic character that sets the stage for Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith’s Switzerland. The play melds fact with fiction by placing Highsmith in a fictional plot of the type of psychological thriller for which she was famous. The two-actor production will have its New York premiere at Hudson Stage Company this month.
During her life, Highsmith was known to be eccentric, hostile and a loner who retreated to the Swiss Alps in her later years. This is where Switzerland takes place. The fictional Edward has been sent by Highsmith’s New York publishing agency to convince her to write one last Ripley novel. Biting humor turns to mystery and tension as the two play a tug-of-war of words to determine who will get their way. Directed by Dan Foster, and starring Peggy J. Scott and Daniel Petzold, the play will run from April 20 through May 5 at North Castle Public Library’s Whippoorwill Theatre in Armonk. Hudson Stage Company is offering an “Arts Deal” for a reduced admission price to ArtsWestchester audiences at artsw.org/artsdeals. For more info, visit hudsonstage.com.
A version of this article first appeared in the April issue of ArtsNews, ArtsWestchester’s monthly publication. ArtsNews is distributed throughout Westchester County. A digital copy is also available at artsw.org/artsnews.
