January 6, 2006

Preview screening of new PBS Adams documentary
January 17

QUINCY — Area residents will soon have a chance to get a sneak peek at PBS's new documentary on President John Adams and his wife, when the Quincy ArtsAlive! Event Series presents a free preview screening event in Adams' native Quincy.

To be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday January 17 at United First Parish Church in Quincy Center, the screening will allow attendees to get a first glimpse of excerpts from American Experience's new two-hour documentary, John & Abigail Adams, which makes its broadcast premiere at 9 p.m. Monday January 23 on WGBH/2. For more information on American Experience's John & Abigail Adams, visit pressroom.wgbh.org.

American Experience Series Manager Jim Dunford and the documentary's writer and producer, Elizabeth Deane, will be on hand to discuss the film's production and introduce excerpts from the film. Additional speakers will include Quincy Mayor William Phelan; Marianne Peak, superintendent of the Adams National Historical Park; and Jim Taylor, editor-in-chief of the Massachusetts Historical Society's Adams Papers.

A question-and-answer session with the audience will follow the screening. Attendees will also have an opportunity to visit the church's presidential crypt at the conclusion of the program. Presidents John Adams, John Quincy Adams and their wives are interred in the crypt beneath the church, which was designed by Alexander Parris and completed in 1828 from granite donated by John Adams.

United First Parish Church is located at 1306 Hancock St. in Quincy Center, directly across the street from the Quincy Center MBTA station.

The Adams screening is presented by Quincy ArtsAlive!, a cultural collaborative comprised of the City of Quincy, Discover Quincy, Adams National Historical Park, Quincy Art Association, Quincy Historical Society and Quincy 2000. For more information on Quincy ArtsAlive!, visit www.quincyartsalive.org .

The Quincy ArtsAlive! initiative is funded in part by a grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Fallon Ambulance is Presenting Sponsor of the Quincy ArtsAlive! Event Series. Benefactors include Daniel J. Flynn Real Estate and South Shore Savings Bank.

Media Contacts:

Discover Quincy: Jennifer Logue, 617-328-1384