Sonora, CA…Money Man, by local award winning playwright Rick Foster, will premiere at Stage 3 Theatre Company on October 24 with an encore matinee performance on October 25. A collaboration between Duende: Drama & Literature, This ‘n That Films and Stage 3, Money Man will star storied local actor Tom Maguire as Alexander Hamilton in his final hours before his duel with Aaron Burr. Playwright Rick Foster and actor Tom Maguire founded Duende: Drama & Literature in 1998. Money Man is the sixteenth play they have produced, most of them keyed to the curriculum of the California schools. They have been seen all over California and in many other states, such as Colorado, Minnesota, Missouri, Georgia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, and New York.

“Money Man is the story of an impoverished immigrant bastard who shows up in the American Colonies just before the Revolution, becomes Washington’s chief aide and protege, fights heroically, is a chief author of our Constitution and, as First Secretary of the Treasury, the architect of our monetary system,” said Playwright Rick Foster. “He was devoutly hated by the leaders of the slave states, especially Jefferson and Madison. He gains great prestige among the progressive class, such as it was at the time, yet never completely outruns his outsider origins. When he concluded that his former friend, Aaron Burr, is a man without principles he unwisely says things in public that, under the Code Duello, allow Burr to challenge him to a duel. Through a series events that bewilder him, he winds up accepting the challenge.”

Tom Maguire is co-founder, Artistic Director, and Principal Actor of Duende: Drama & Literature. A collaboration has gone on between Rick Foster and Tom for decades. “Rick and I started working together in 1975 at Berkeley Stage Company,” said Maguire. “I had known him as a critic for the University of California’s Daily Californian before that. I think our collaboration works well because we communicate well. Not only do we both have educations in math and science, we also have solid backgrounds in the theater arts.”

Playing historical figures may be familiar territory for Tom Maguire, but Hamilton is new ground in one important way. “Alexander Hamilton is the first American political figure that I have played. I’ve never had any particularly strong attraction to history, but I can depend on Rick to choose a person who will eventually really capture my attention. I think Hamilton’s humble, disadvantaged background makes him an especially attractive character, since the Founding Fathers were generally from rather advantaged backgrounds.”

Duende was founded in 1998 and Money Man will be their 16th production. This is not the first time they have teamed up with Stage 3 Theatre Company. In 2002 Duende produced its California History Theater series at Stage 3. This included premieres of Wicked Dick Three Eyes a Gold rush comedy about a Shakespearean troupe that lands in Sonora, penniless, in 1851, and of Inventing the West.

Money Man will be the central material for a Common Core unit, bringing American History to life for California eighth graders and high school juniors. John C. Brown of This ’n That Films will create the video. His company recently scored a triumph with the release of their documentary 88 Days: Mark Twain Finds His Voice.

Money Man plays for one weekend only, Saturday October 24 at 7pm and Sunday October 25 at 2pm. Tickets for the performance ar $15.00. Tuolumne County teacher and middle and high school students are free with reservations. For more information or reservations visit Stage3.org or call 209 536 1778.