The North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (NCSF) in High Point presents Brian Friel's "Faith Healer" as part of its new Twin City Season at the Mountcastle Forum, March 9 through 25.

"Faith Healer," which just completed a highly successful Broadway run, tells the moving tale of charismatic Frank Hardy, his longtime lover, Grace, and his devoted manager, Teddy, as they travel the back roads of Scotland and Wales peddling miracles. The trio wrestles with Hardy's genuine, but elusive gift for healing.

"One of the many reasons this play is so amazing is that it speaks to all kinds of people on so many different levels," says Kristin Kundert-Gibbs, the director of the play. "The play is about faith, creation, love, friendship and the sacrifices we make for all of those things."

"Faith Healer" features Allan Edwards as Frank Hardy, Monica Bell as Grace and Lucius Houghton as Teddy.

This is the second play in the Twin City Season series, NCSF's new program of professional Equity theater productions in downtown Winston-Salem. Performances will be held at the Mountcastle Forum in the Sawtooth Building, which has been transformed into an intimate space with 99 theater seats purchased from an old movie house in Bakersfield, Calif. Launched this year, the Twin City Season is the next step in the Festival's continued evolution as a major American regional theater.

"The goal of this program is to broaden the Festival's repertoire," says Pedro Silva, NCSF managing and artistic director. "We plan to build on our tradition of producing the world's great classics, as well as introduce new and contemporary works that will serve a larger and more diverse audience."

Director Kristin Kundert-Gibbs is currently assistant professor of acting/directing and voice at the University of Georgia. She has directed plays throughout the United States and in London. She directed "Topdog/Underdog" with Derrick Parker and "Death of a Salesman" with John Woodson at The Warehouse Theatre in Greenville, S.C. She directed the Festival Pre-show with Lane Davies at the Kingsmen Shakespeare Festival in Simi Valley, Calif. She has directed six productions at the Crossroads Repertory Theatre in Terre Haute, Ind., among many others.

NCSF veteran actor Allan Edwards has played Scrooge in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," Friar Lawrence in "Romeo and Juliet" and Baptista Minola in "The Taming of the Shrew" during the MainStage season. He has performed with the Georgia Shakespeare Festival and the Houston Shakespeare Festival. He originated roles in Steven Dietz's "10 November" and "Foolin' Around with Infinity" and in Beth Henley's "Signature."

Edwards has been a member of Actors' Equity since 1987.

Monica Bell most recently was Katherine, the Shrew, in "The Taming of the Shrew" and Lady Capulet in "Romeo and Juliet" during NCSF's 2006 MainStage season. Regionally she has performed at The Huntington Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Pioneer Memorial Theatre, Studio Arena, Syracuse Stage, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Madison Repertory Theatre, The Utah Shakespeare Festival, and 10 seasons with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Internationally, she has appeared in Clytemnestra and The Bacchae with the Suzuki Company of Toga in Tokyo, Japan.

Lucius Houghton was Truman Capote in "Tru," the first play in the Twin City Season series, and was Grumio in "The Taming of the Shrew" and Peter in "Romeo and Juliet" during the 2006 MainStage season. Houghton is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA) and a founding member of NCSF. He has taught, directed or been a guest artist at NCSA, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, High Point University and The Hartt School. Houghton also taught acting for five years at the South Carolina Governor's School for Arts and Humanities.

Tickets to "Faith Healer" are now on sale at the High Point Theatre ticket office and range in price from $15 to $33. To purchase tickets, call 336-887-3001, Monday through Friday from noon until 5 p.m., o, visit www.highpointtheatre.com. Tickets may also be purchased one hour before curtain time at the Sawtooth Building.