The Pueblo Chieftain

Greenhorn Valley play revisits

Dust Bowl era

Posted: Friday, September 16, 2011 12:00 am

The Greenhorn Valley Players will bring the work of a local playwright and musician to the stage next weekend.

"Dust Angels" is written by Peter Burg, a well-known musician and longtime Rye resident. The play is set in 1934 in a rural Southeastern Colorado community.

"It's about three groups of people who end up on this ranch," said Burg. "It's reminiscent of what's happening today. . . . It's about hardship, struggle, faith, people's differences — everything that happens throughout life, in a nutshell, is in this play."

The lives of the eight people living on the ranch intertwine in unexpected ways, he said. Their interactions become their saving grace as they deal with personal tragedies, brutal weather and a terrible economy.

The eight-person cast includes Burg, Cliff Pattison (founder and artistic director of the theater group), Elizabeth Smith, Kira Hughes, Jon Hannan, Marissa Porter, Michael Davis and Nic Hannan.

Burg co-directs the play with Pattison and wrote original music for it. A slide show and monologue will give the audience background about the Dust Bowl era and the people who lived through it.

Tickets are $6 in advance or $7 at the door. For information, call 489-2099.

• Amy Matthew

  The Pueblo Chieftain