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CHAPEL HILL -- “On Agate Hill,” the one-woman play adapted from the new Lee Smith novel, will be presented by Chapel Hill’s Deep Dish Theater, June 5-15. Barbara Bates Smith, noted for her adaptation and Off-Broadway performance of “Ivy Rowe” from Lee Smith’s Fair and Tender Ladies, stars in “On Agate Hill.” Musical accompaniment is by Jeff Sebens.

"The two Smiths seem made for each other," cites the Asheville Citizen-Times. "Barbara is a marvel as she seamlessly slips from character to character. But mostly she is our heroine Molly, moving from a wrecked plantation to a range of sites in over a half-century's time. The talented vocal, banjo and hammer dulcimer score by Jeff Sebens aids in conveying the touching and poignant story."

The performance schedule for “On Agate Hill” is as follows: Thursday, June 5 at 7:30 pm, Friday & Saturday, June 6-7 at 8 pm, Sunday, June 8 at 2 pm; then Saturday, June 14 at 8 pm and Sunday, June 15 at 2 pm. All performances are at the Deep Dish Theater in Chapel Hill’s University Mall, located on Estes Drive and US 15-501. Tickets for all performances are $16, $14 for seniors, and $12 for students.

Lee Smith will attend the performance on June 5 and chat with the audience after the show. She will also autograph copies of her books in the Deep Dish lobby.

The novel On Agate Hill is the 2007 “Together We Read” selection for Western North Carolina, as well as for other community reading programs in the Southeast. The novel’s heroine, Molly Petree, orphaned by the Civil War, is “a spitfire and a burden” who risks everything to hold on to her own nature and to true love. Like a ballad of the old South, Molly’s tale resonates with passion, humor and drama.

Other literary adaptations in Barbara’s touring repertoire are “B. Smith Does Lee Smith,” a Lee Smith sampler; “Ellen Foster” from the Kaye Gibbons novel; and a Fred Chappell sampler. Winner of the 2003 Southeastern Theatre Conference Best Actress award, Barbara was in the world premiere of Horton Foote's “Talking Pictures” at Florida’s Asolo Theatre, and has been featured in four Southeastern productions of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize play, WIT.

Prize-winning North Carolina novelist Lee Smith has written twelve novels, including the New York Times best-seller The Last Girls, the ever-popular Fair and Tender Ladies, and Oral History; and three collections of short stories. Literary awards for Lee Smith have included the Lila Wallace/ Readers’ Digest Award, the Southern Book Critics Circle Award, and the Fiction Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

For tickets or more information: call Deep Dish Theater at 968-1515 or visit the Deep Dish website at www.deepdishtheater.org. For more information about the actress/adaptor go to www.barbarabatessmith.com.