ATTENTION: Arts & Entertainment
Editor, Calendar Editor
WHAT: The 28 Inch
Mill, A Solo Performance of a Dramatic Memoir by Robert D.
Frantz
WHO: Produced and Performed by Stanley R.
Frantz
Presented by The Steelworkers' Archives & The Pa.
Federation of Injured Workers (PFIW)
WHERE: The Ice House, Bethlehem,
PA
WHEN: June 11- July 11
Fridays
and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sunday, June 13 at 5 p.m., all other Sundays
at 2 p.m.
The June 11, 12, 13 performances are part of
the Bethlehem Historic and Cultural Festival
Special Steelworker/Veteran Performance, July 4 - $5 for retired
steelworkers & veterans
HOW MUCH: $15 all tickets, no reserved
seating - July 4 - $5 for retired steelworkers &
veterans
TICKET INFORMATION: 610-261-4088 and online at www.the28inchmill.com
PRESS
CONTACT: Stan Frantz 610-261-4088 or info@the28inchmill.com
WEB
SITE: www.the28inchmill.com
UPDATE:
Steelworker's Play Strikes Chord in Community of Once
Powerful, Now Gone, Bethlehem Steel
Early response to news of the forthcoming opening
of The 28 Inch Mill, a one man play about life 'down the Steel' written
by a former steelworker for his son to perform, has been powerful and at times
very moving.
"I knew the material and the subject were very near
and dear to the hearts of many people in this community," said Stan Frantz, the
actor who is producing and performing his father Robert's play, "but I didn't
expect the intensity of deeply heartfelt emotions that rise up whenever I talk
to anyone about it."
"Nearly everyone I come in contact with has a story
to tell, a family member or close relative or friend who was involved with the
Steel. And everyone has a different mix of emotions. There is sadness and still
disbelief that its gone. There is thankfulness for it's having
existed, for what it gave the community and the opportunities they had
while it existed. Surprisingly there is not a lot of bitterness, though it is
there, but more fond remembrance and still much grief. I can always see it in
their eyes as they talk to me. But more importantly, there is a rising desire to
preserve it's memory and honor those who worked there and gave so much to all of
us."
"I truly see now, that this play is much more than
a tremendous gift from my father to me, but a gift to his fellow workers and to
the community as a whole. I only hope that I can do it justice."
"Everyday I meet people who lived it, who worked
there and experienced much of what is described in the play. The pressure is
definitely on. For an hour and a half I will stand up in front of them and try
to recreate something like what their lives were like. It doesn't get more
challenging than that!" said the actor.
"Where I find confidence to face up to the
task is in the quality of my father's writing. It is so vivid and creates
such a descriptive, almost cinematic vision of this vanished world, that if
all I did was sit and read it, I think people would see it
clearly."
The 28 Inch Mill will premiere on the East
Coast at the Ice House on Sand Island on June 11 at 8 pm as a key part of the
Bethlehem Historic and Cultural Festival presented by the Steelworkers'
Archives. It will run on weekends through July 11. There will be a Special
Performance on July 4th at which steelworkers and veterans will be admitted for
only $5.00. Tickets throughout the rest of the run are $15.00, open
seating.
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