Pictured left to right: Ashley Perez Flanagan, Jessica Frances Dukes, Parris Lewis, & Nicholas Baroudi

Adirondack Theatre Festival (ATF) announced casting for its 30^th Anniversary season. Multiple Broadway and television veterans will join local talent for a starry showcase of new work. 

The season kicks off with the world premiere musical comedy Todd vs the Titanic by the creators of the Off-Broadway hit Murder for Two, which ATF originated in 2010. Joe Kinosian, who composed the music of Murder for Two and played all twelve suspects in the world premiere production, will star in Todd vs the Titanic. 

The madcap musical follows an apocalyptic event outside a theater in Schenectady, which wipes out every member of the cast of a musical about the Titanic… Every member, that is, except for Todd, who has the show’s smallest part. Alone and terrified, Todd soldiers on and plays all of the roles himself in the hope that someone out there is listening. Todd vs the Titanic is a hilarious one-man tour de force and a moving tribute to the power of art to sustain us. ATF’s production will transfer to the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca following the run in Glens Falls from June 27 – July 3. 

Next, audiences can catch a sneak peek of a new play commissioned by ATF and created and performed by Jessica Frances Dukes (Netflix’s Ozark and Broadway’s Trouble in Mind). Dukes, an Obie Award winner and Screen Actors Guild Award nominee, makes her playwriting debut with Worth: An Intimate Exhibition, an autobiographical investigation of the value of art and artist. ATF will present a developmental reading at the Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council (LARAC) Lapham Gallery from July 12 – 14 in partnership with the Lake George Theater Lab. 

More Broadway stars arrive at ATF for The King’s Wife, a concert presentation of the new pop musical with a score by Grammy-nominated Nashville songwriter Jamie Floyd. 

The King’s Wife imagines the secret history of the first wives of Henry VIII. Parris Lewis (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – first national tour) plays Catherine of Aragon and Matthew Griffin (Tina: The Tina Turner Musical – Broadway) plays Henry VIII. They are joined by Ashley Perez Flanagan (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 – Broadway), Jimmy Rae Bennett (the voice of Floyd in Grand Theft Auto V), Namisa Mdlalose Bizana, Austin Ku, Morgan Reilly, Briar Magee, and Richard Putorti Jr. 

The season closes with Jeffrey Hatcher’s edgy new adaptation of Dial “M” for Murder. This stylish twist on the thriller made famous by the Alfred Hitchcock film features Nicholas Baroudi (Law and Order: Organized Crime and Fosse/Verdon) alongside Yesenia Iglesias, Dennis Schebetta, and Sigrid Sutter. Dial “M” for Murder runs August 1 – 7. 

Single tickets for Todd vs the Titanic, The King’s Wife, and Dial “M” for Murder at the Charles R. Wood Theater range from $25 to $49. Tickets for the reading of Worth: an Intimate Exhibition at LARAC are $15. Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.atfestival.org, or by calling the Wood Theater Box Office at 518-480-4878, or in-person at the Box Office at 207 Glen Street. The Box Office is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. 

About Adirondack Theatre Festival 

Martha Banta and David Turner, along with a 12-member founding committee, created the Adirondack Theatre Festival in 1993 and presented its first 18-day season of new and contemporary theater at the French Mountain Playhouse within the Lake George RV Park in 1995. Today ATF is the only professional theater festival in New York’s Capital region dedicated to new musicals and plays. Each summer ATF produces a nine-week season at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls. The organization operates under a Small Professional Theatre Agreement with Actors’ Equity Association. The actors seen on the ATF stage, as well as the designers and directors, have worked regularly on and off-Broadway, on television and in movies.

Photo by Han Hopman.

Dave Randles has seen six active dairy farms disappear from the five-mile stretch of Argyle where his family’s farm has existed since 1862. Today, the animals are gone from their farm too, and the land that remains is used only for growing crops. 

In 2020, Dave and his wife, Marge, owners of the Argyle Cheese Farmer, moved onto greener pastures in Hudson Falls – trading steep grassy slopes with great views for the sleek sophistication of a state-of-the-art dairy processing plant. Equipped with an observation window, visitors can see first-hand the future of this industry. 

“The reality of farming is truer here than in the press,” said Marge. 

Get Big or Get Out

New York’s dairy industry is critical to the state’s economy. New York is an agribusiness global leader with an innovative dairy community that produces more than 15 billion pounds of milk annually, making it the fifth largest dairy producer in the nation.

But producing more milk has not meant more profits for most of the state’s farmers – or cheaper prices for consumers. 

“People want cheap food but if farmers were paid what they needed to have to make a living wage, shoppers couldn’t afford it,” said Marge.

“People need to eat,” explained Dave, “but economically, dairy farming doesn’t pay. You work, and work, and work – hard – and don’t get anywhere.”

The price of machinery and production costs have risen while volatile milk prices wedge dairy farmers into a position where they must expand their herd or consolidate. These larger dairies have improved margins because they can buy supplies in bulk, are less vulnerable to market fluctuations, and have more money to invest in more efficient equipment, better quality feed and forage, and the “Cadillac” of cow bedding materials – sand. 

What Dreams are Made Of

Dave and Marge met at Cornell University in the 1970’s and Marge, a Certified Financial Planner, ran a successful accounting business for 20 years before the couple released a line of Argyle Cheese Farmer products in 2007.  

In 2020, Argyle Cheese Farmer teamed up with Hudson Fall’s Ideal Dairy Farm to purchase the Lewis Super Grocery store on Burgoyne Avenue. 

“We wouldn’t be here today without Ideal Farm,” said Marge. Not only does Ideal Farm’s size and scale make them efficient, they have invested in genetics to create “cookie-cutter cows” and provided creature comforts (like fans and automated back-scratchers) for them.

After renovating the building to give it a red and white exterior, reminiscent of the barns that used to commonly dot the landscape, when visitors walk inside this cheese shop they are greeted by the enticing aroma of bread baking in the commercial kitchen. 

Argyle Cheese Farmer’s delightful baked goods are just one of the many ways they’ve incorporated Ideal’s milk into their product line. In addition to the amazing dry, crumbly cheese curds that have made them famous, the Argyle Cheese Farmer shop carries items you won’t commonly see at their 65 retail locations (which include Hannaford, Price Chopper/Market 32 Supermarkets, Stewart’s Shops and area farmer’s markets, among others). 

Argyle Cheese Farmer offers a selection of milk products including 11 flavors of hard cheese; creamy cheesecakes in a variety of sizes; quark (a simple, European-style cream cheese), and take-and-bake meals like pizza and macaroni and cheese. Ice cream, gelato, sorbet, and frozen yogurt, are joined by their robust line of Greek yogurts, including the New York State Fair’s Best in State award-winner made with syrup from Argyle’s Highland Maple Farm. 

Carrying European and other local artisanal cheeses, milk products, and goods, as well as souvenir items, this shop satisfies visitors with fancy cheese needs and those looking to pick up affordable, locally-made grocery staples.

Anything Argyle is A2

Although Ideal Dairy Farm, established in 1908, now raises 3,000 cows and cultivates 4,500 acres of farmland in Warren and Washington counties, Argyle Cheese Farmer products are made only from their herd of 250 cows producing A2 milk. 

Making a splash in recent years because it is considered more digestible for people experiencing symptoms of lactose intolerance, A2 milk has been a saving grace for many consumers who had previously sworn-off dairy. 

Creating the recipes for their products comes naturally to Marge, she said, but adjusting to their current scale of production has had its challenges.Instead of making yogurt three times a week in 50-gallon vats, they now use a 1,200-gallon vat for yogurt and a 500-gallon vat for cheese production. 

Through their observation window, visitors are educated about the process and see the safety measures in place while learning the history of the unique and talented dairy producers and processors that provide significant contributions to New York’s agriculture industry, the economy, and to the health of our communities.

The Argyle Cheese Farmer, 2358 Burgoyne Ave, Hudson Falls, is open Monday – Saturday 8am-7pm, and Sunday 9am-4pm. They will be participating with Ideal Dairy in tours throughout July & August, and are a designated stop on the 2024 County Bounty Tour on September 7th & 8th.

For more information, visit their website at cheesefarmer.com