Gem Radio Theatre celebrates America 250 with original production

JOHNSBURG | The Adirondack Mountains' "storied" performance group Gem Radio Theatre will perform Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness at a series of venues bookending Independence Day 2026 to commemorate the Semiquincentennial Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence as part of initiatives throughout the country working to involve Americans in the 250th anniversary of the United States. Performances of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness are scheduled for: Tuesday, June 30, 6:30 p.m. – Crandall Library, 251 Glen Street, Glens Falls Thursday, July 2, 7:30 p.m. – Indian Lake Theatre, 6311 NY Rt. 30, Indian Lake Friday, July 3, Afternoon Time TBA – Ski Bowl "America 250 Celebration," North Creek Saturday, July 11, 7:30 p.m. – Tannery Pond Community Center, 228 Main St., North Creek Gem Radio Theatre executive producer and director Robin Jay explained, "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is a most ambitious stage performance project based on actual archival writings of and about historical Colonial Americans who were forces leading to our Declaration of Independence. Our goal is to invite Adirondackers of all ages to experience a time in our nation's history when Colonists of all walks of life forged a collective path to independence. There is no more significant event in our country's history than the very birth of our nation." Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is an original stage performance highlighting many key historical Colonial Americans, and some lesser-known figures, whose advocacy for creating a united independent nation from the original Thirteen Colonies led to the Declaration of Independence. Written by Adirondack essayist-in-residence Edward Collins, Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness represents six months of research and over 125 archival documents. It begins with Revolutionary War veteran Andrus Wever (1758-1836), who established present-day Wevertown in the Adirondack Town of Johnsburg, telling to his children stories of his service "in the cause of independence," beginning with his time as a member of Vermont's The Green Mountain Boys. Through Wever's reminiscences of his service and his recollections of tales of others, the roles of historical figures are stitched together in a contemporaneous quilt of forces foundational to the creation of the United States. Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness includes accounts of Crispus Attacks, widely believed to be the first fatality of what historians call "America's first Civil War"; The Green Mountain Boys; cousins John and Samuel Adams and The Sons of Liberty; Sarah Bradlee Fulton, the "Mother of the Boston Tea Party" and a member of The Daughters of Liberty; poet, playwright, and pamphleteer Mercy Otis Warren; British writer Catherine Macaulay who took up the cause of the Colonists in England; Oneida First People Native Polly Cooper who was a force for helping Colonel Washington's Continental Army survive the brutal winter at Valley Forge; Benjamin Franklin; Patrick Henry; Thomas Paine; Abigail Adams; and Thomas Jefferson. Collins draws on the actual written words and contemporary accounts of these Colonists as he weaves their individual stories into the greater narrative of our nation's birth. The Gem Radio Theatre, centered in the Town of Johnsburg, has presented several plays in many venues in recent years, including The Great Adirondack Stagecoach Robbery, The Lone Ranger Rides Again, The African Queen, It's a Wonderful Life, Horrors You Can Hear, and Christmas With Fibber McGee and Molly. Other past projects include murder mystery plays, "History Tea" presentations, and graveyard walks with actors portraying local historical figures at their gravesites. Gem Radio Theatre ensemble actresses and actors are all Adirondack residents – a truly "All Adirondack Theatre Group." Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is writer Edward Collins's premier stage script for the theatre group. His many other non-fiction works include stories about the lives and legacies of early Adirondack historical figures; his personal accounts of surviving a life-threatening health crisis and of surpassing 40,000 daily walking miles; writing about the life-value of avocations, especially in retirement; an account of enduring the uncertainties of the early covid pandemic months; poetry; photography (his photo of a pristine, forever-wild Adirondack lake graces a magazine cover); and articles about Irish history and culture in America. He has produced, directed and co-written a short documentary Irish Hands That Built America collaborating with two distinguished virtuosos in the performing arts: Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated Irish-American actor William Devane (JFK in The Missiles of October, Greg Sumner in Knots Landing, Dr. Dix in Jesse Stone Mysteries), and Ireland's multiple Grammy-nominated composer, arranger, pianist, singer/song writer, and recording producer Phil Coulter (Puppet on a String, The Town I Loved So Well, the smash hit Saturday Night by the Bay City Rollers ). Ed and Jean Collins reside on an Adirondack mountain in North River, where they built their "wee cabin in the woods" of native lumber with help from family and friends.

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Gem Radio Theatre celebrates America 250 with original production

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