Maude Gutman has bought the ugliest thrift store painting she could get her hands on as a gag gift. After the painting is rejected, Maude tries to offload it at a yard sale where she learns it might be much more than junk—it just might be the “find of the century,” an undiscovered Jackson Pollock painting. When Lionel Percy, a renowned art expert, arrives at Maude’s trailer to investigate the painting’s potential, the two embark on a fiery debate over class, truth, and what we personally perceive as valuable. Inspired by true events, this National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by Stephen Sachs asks, what makes a work of art truly authentic?

“It’s exhilarating in the extreme when a world premiere play strikes rich on every conceivable level.  Such is the case with Stephen Sachs Bakersfield Mist. ”
LOS ANGELES TIMES

Photo: Paula Langton and Ken Cheeseman. Photo: Andrew Brilliant/Brilliant Pictures