"Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages . . ."

The Hudson Teen Theatre Project (HTTP) is sponsored by the Hudson Opera House and founded and directed by Carol Russoff, an artist and educator known for her "talent in developing young people's abilities and inspiring them to excel." Last year, HTTP performed Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on a midsummer night in the PARC Park across from the Opera House. This weekend, HTTP will be debuting its very own adaptation of the best known work of 14th-century English literature, Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales. 

The Canterbury Tales, known to most as the second work encountered in any survey of English literature course (the first being Beowulf) and the defining example in English of the frame story genre, is promised to "come alive under the inventive direction of Russoff and the energy, wit, talent, and dedication of the ensemble." The alliterative descriptors used in the publicity for the production give some idea of what's in store: "Rollicking Romance, Daring Duels, Tragic Tristes [sic]." The performance focuses on three of the tales: "The Knight's Tale," "The Wife of Bath's Tale," and "The Franklin's Tale."


The HTTP production of The Canterbury Tales will be presented this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday--June 28, 29, and 30--at Basilica Hudson, 110 South Front Street. All performances begin at 8 p.m., and admission is free.