POTSDAM — SUNY Potsdam’s Department of Theatre and Dance on Thursday and Friday will host Pendragon Theatre’s production of “Terra Nova,” a riveting play about the race to the South Pole from 1911 to 1912.

“Terra Nova” will be staged at 7:30 p.m. both days in the College Theatre, Satterlee Hall.

In the winter of 1911-12, five Englishmen and five Norwegians raced each other to the bottom of the Earth. Only the five Norwegians returned. “Terra Nova” covers the story of the Englishmen.

In honor of the expedition’s centennial, Pendragon, based in Saranac Lake, is staging Ted Tally’s compelling look at heroism under extraordinarily adverse and deadly conditions. Mr. Tally (who also wrote “The Silence of the Lambs”) took the play from journals and letters found on the frozen body of British expedition leader Robert Scott. His team declined the use of sled dogs, so were forced to drag their gear across a frozen wasteland, only to find that the Norwegian team had arrived before them.

“‘Terra Nova’ is a highly theatrical reimagining of a devastating journey. The play also offers us an insightful look at human issues of pride, heroism and morality in the face of overwhelming odds,” director Bob Pettee said.

The ensemble includes: Matthew Dubrey, Matt Eick, Jordan Hornstein, Chris Leifheit, Megan Macdonald, Chris McGovern and Brandon Patterson. Mr. Dubrey, Miss MacDonald, and Mr. Patterson are all alumni of SUNY Potsdam’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

Ticketing services for this event are provided by the Community Performance Series Box Office. Tickets are available by calling CPS at 267-2277 or visiting www.cpspotsdam.org. Prices are $12 for general admission, $10 for SUNY Potsdam faculty and staff or senior citizens, and $5 for students and youth.

Pendragon Theatre, the Adirondacks’ only year-round professional theatre company, receives funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer