Film and Broadway star Mary Stuart Masterson will direct a theatrical reading in Poughkeepsie, NY, based on Joseph Elone, a 17-year-old Poughkeepsie High School honor student who died in August 2013. Elone died after contracting Lyme disease, which spread to his heart.
"The Little Things," according to a press release, is "a docudrama about one family's journey through the enigma of Lyme Disease, based on transcribed conversations with the Elone Family of Poughkeepsie."

"The Little Things" will be presented at 7 p.m. June 8 at the Bardavon 1869 Opera House in Poughkeepsie. Masterson also is directing the performance. "The Little Things" was written by Masteron's husband, Jeremy Davidson, and is being presented by the Bardavon and Storyhorse, a documentary theater project based on transcribed conversations with people in the Hudson Valley.

The reading will be followed by a question-and-answer session involving the audience and Hyde Park-based Lyme disease specialist Dr. Richard Horowitz.

Elone was in excellent health before attending a two-week outdoor camp in Rhode Island, according to his father, Benedict Elone. Lyme disease is "endemic" or established in Rhode Island. The youth became ill after returning home July 5; he tested negative for Lyme disease, as is typical of early infection, on his second doctor's visit on July 23. His parents said he was not treated with antibiotics — some but not all symptoms suggested Lyme — and died just seven hours after collapsing on Aug. 4.

Admission for "The Little Things" is a $6 suggested donation. Tickets can be purchased in person at the Bardavon box office, 35 Market St., Poughkeepsie, which can be reached at 845-473-2072; and the UPAC box office, 601 Broadway Kingston, which can be reached at 845-339-6088