The Carl M. Freeman Foundation’s Seventh Annual Free Theatre at the Beach Festival will present three nights of Coconut Road at the Village at Bear Trap Dunes’ outdoor amphitheater in Ocean View, Delaware July 12-14, 2007.

“We are delighted to be sponsoring this opening of Coconut Road - bringing new theater works produced and performed by local talent is a real joy for us,” said Michelle Freeman, President of The Carl M. Freeman Foundation. “Bringing the arts to everyone in Sussex County has been a longtime passion of the Foundation and this performance is likely our best ever.”

Coconut Road is a joint production by local playwright Harold Schmidt and The Village Players Community Theatre Group. The play is about hard times during the Great Depression, when ‘riding the rails’ led to hopes for better times. People turned to faith, family, and charity as ways to survive. Everyone will enjoy this family-friendly musical about overcoming adversity and remaining optimistic about life, despite hardships.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Last year, over 1,500 residents and visitors attended, so patrons should arrive early and bring lawn chairs or blankets for a night of theatre under the stars. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

In addition to the three performances, each day the actors and directors will hold theatre workshops for children of all ages from 4-5 pm. Classes will be held at the Pavilion at Bear Trap and are free and open to the public.

For more information about the Free Theatre Festival, call 302/436-3097.

Harold Schmidt has written six plays and two musicals over the last fifteen years and is the “playwright in residence” with the Village Players Theatre Group. In addition to Coconut Road, his works include Wrinkles (which enjoyed an Equity production run of two months on a New Jersey stage); Einstein’s Breakfast (last year’s Free Theater production); Character Analysis; Blind Man’s Bluff; Nessie and the Naked Ape; and Tiz the Season.

The Village Players have been producing professional theater in the local Sussex County, Delaware area for five years. The organization’s focus is on educational opportunities for aspiring members (children and adults) interested in quality theatre arts. Notables among the Coconut Road actors are Village Players Jessica and Jordan O’Brien who have just signed with the national tour of Gypsy and Carl Anthony Tramon, who has appeared in many TV shows (such as One Life to Live, Saved By the Bell, Saturday Night Live) films ( Driven, Pizza Palace) and theater productions ( Fame, Peter Pan, A Christmas Carol).

The Carl M. Freeman Foundation supports non-profit organizations striving to make a meaningful difference in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit our website at www.freemanfounation.org.