Star-Crossed “Constellations” at Ancram Center for the Arts

Evening Standard Theatre Awards) follows the romantic relationship of Roland, a beekeeper, and Marianne, a physicist. This love story winds across a quantum universe, in which every outcome is equally possible. The New Yorker called Constellations “A singular astonishment.”

Stars and real-life married couple Andrus Nichols and Drew Ledbetter shine as the only two characters in this non-linear drama, which you can see at Ancram Center for the Arts from August 16-25. Tickets are available at ancramcenter.org.

“Drew and I have never acted together before, which is unusual for a couple who are both actors,” Nichols said. Not only that, their lives strangely parallel the play’s plot. “When we finally met, we realized that there were so many moments in our lives when our paths almost crossed, and didn’t,” Nichols explained. “When I lived in San Francisco I played Hamlet and Drew’s best friend was Horatio, but Drew, who also lived there, didn’t see our production because he was in another play. When I moved to New York City, Drew and I had the same manager – who had a tiny, tiny roster of clients. Yet we never met.” After a series of near misses, the couple finally connected at Theatre Row in Manhattan in 2016.

Both have long Off-Broadway, TV and film resumes but when COVID hit they moved full time to Sharon, Connecticut where they are “busier than ever.” They co-directed “Our Town” at the Sharon Playhouse in 2023. To prepare for their roles in “Constellations,” Nichols is studying string theory online, and Ledbetter is spending time in an apiary.

Ancram Center for the Arts is an award-winning theater located in New York’s Hudson Valley. Housed in an historic Grange Hall, Ancram Center has since 2016 presented groundbreaking theater and musical performances by nationally recognized theater artists. Ancram Center for the Arts receives significant annual support from the New York State Council on the Arts and in 2023 was awarded a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. For tickets and information visit www.ancramcenter.org.