Theatre at the Mount presents: "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"

Dale Wasserman's 60's classic, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" comes to life on the Theatre at the Mount stage for five performances beginning Friday, Oct. 5, at Mount Wachusett Community College, 444 Green St.

Set in a mental ward in America in the 1950s, the drama features half a dozen patients suffering various degrees of mental illness, from the lobotomized near-vegetable Ruckly, played by March Schrader, to the hyper-active Cheswick, played by Chuck Grigaitis. Other residents include Martini (played by Anthony Santucci), an eager, bright-eyed Italian suffering from hallucinations; well-educated but nervous and effete Harding, played by Vic Kruczynski; stuttering Billy Bibbitt (played by Tim Culkeen), still psychologically under his mother's control; Scanlon (played by Tony Minichiello), who is obsessed with constructing bombs; and, Chief Bromden (played by Joe DeStadio), a large, bull muscled, deaf/mute Indian with schizophrenia.

Enter Randall P. McMurphy (played by Aaron Whipple), a con-man, thief and rapist, who has feigned mental illness in order to escape the rigors of the prison farm. A rebel by nature, he is soon flouting every rule in the book, organizing gambling schools, basketball matches and even a party in the ward. He challenges the domineering and terrifying Nurse Ratched (played by Wendy Almeida) and manages to bring defiance, laughter and liberation to his fellow inmates. Other members of the cast are: David Prokowiew, Thaddeus Bell, Nicole Couture, Carolyn Salter and Alison Laverdierre.

An iconic film and best selling novel, the stage version of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" will make audiences laugh and cry in a unforgettably, thrilling high voltage spectacle.

Performances of Cuckoo's Nest are October 5, 6, 12, 13 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 14 at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale now at the Theatre at the Mount box office at (978) 632-2403 or can be purchased tickets online at http://theatre.mwcc.edu

Due to mature content and language, Cuckoo's Nest is not appropriate for children.