PRESS RELEASE
Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance

Contact Person: Christopher Atamian
catamian@aol.com

December 6TH, 2008

SAROYAN READING BY ADAA AND GARTAL AT THE OHIO THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY

On November 19th, the Armenian Dramatic Arts Alliance and Gartal
marked the 100th anniversary of William Saroyan’s birth with a staged
reading of his play, "A Lost Child’s Fireflies" at the Ohio Theater
in Soho. Michael Barakiva directed the reading. Mr. Barakiva was a
member of the prestigious Lincoln Center Director’s Lab and is
currently the resident director of the stage musical Dirty Dancing.

The cast included a talented array of alumni from Julliard, NYU and
Yale School of Drama who have been appearing regularly on the New
York stage, TV and film: Maria Thayer, Brian Hutchison, Kelly
Hutchison, Jonathan Woodward, Alicia Goranson (a regular from
Roseanne), Gene Gillette, Kelly Moore, Greg Derelian, Clayton Apgar,
Liza Petrosyan, and Hunter Reid.

The play, published in 1954, and produced only once before in Texas,
follows the lives of six childhood friends from a small town in
Pennsylvania, from 1901-1948, as they fall in love, marry, go to war,
have children, and deal with the lost dreams of their parents.
Saroyan’s simple and touching play gives the audience insight into
the loves and desires of three generations of Americans without
passing judgment–moral or otherwise. ADAA was given exclusive rights
to select the play from the Saroyan Archives at Stanford University.

The audience responded enthusiastically to the cast’s outstanding
reading. Cast and audience members mingled afterwards over wine and
cheese.

This is the second collaboration between Gartal and ADAA. The
reading was produced by ADAA founder Bianca Bagatourian and noted
producer Christopher Atamian.

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Cast and crew of Saroyan’s "A Lost Child’s Fireflies", presented by
ADAA and Gartal in NYC Nov. 19.