Pillsbury House Theatre is excited to announce its 2017 season, including a world premiere of The Great Divide: Plays for a Broken Nation; an area premiere one-woman show Pike St., written and performed by Obie-Award-winning playwright Nilaja Sun; and ≈ [Almost Equal To] by Sweden’s foremost playwright Jonas Hassen Khemiri. The 26th season of plays confronts a number of contemporary issues, ranging from the political landscape to the economy.
THE GREAT DIVIDE: PLAYS FOR A BROKEN NATION
APRIL 19 – 30, 2017
five short plays directed by Ellen Fenster
by Benjamin Benne, Alan Berks, Christina M. Ham, Katie Ka Vang and James A. Williams and music by DJ Chamun
Are we entering our New Normal, or is this just a phase? Is ‘whitelash’ real, or just another piece of ‘fake news’? Pillsbury House Theatre commissioned five new 10-minute plays by local writers responding to the deeply partisan split on the direction of our country. In polarizing times of national upheaval and civil unrest, how do we deal with competing truths? Where does the election leave us, as individuals, as communities, as a country? The Great Divide is a personal, powerful and visceral response to the political animosity that has become our post-election reality. Buy tickets.
PIKE ST.
MAY 31 – JUNE 18, 2017
by Nilaja Sun, directed by Ron Russell
Nilaja Sun, the playwright/performer of the Obie Award-winning No Child (seen at PHT in 2010) comes to the House with her solo show, Pike St., for a limited three-week run. Sun’s virtuosic performance style brings to life a vibrant community of colorful characters on Manhattan’s Lower East Side as they come together to prepare for an impending hurricane. With a keen political eye and gentle humor, Sun’s rich portrayals of three generations of a Puerto Rican family, an octogenarian downstairs neighbor, and a host of friends brings Pike St. and the people within it to life. Buy tickets.
“[Nilaja Sun] portrays three generations of a Puerto Rican family…bringing each to life with a radiant grace that makes her virtuosity seem as natural as breathing.” –New York Times
Nilaja Sun. Photo by Melissa Friedman
≈[ALMOST EQUAL TO]
SEPTEMBER 16 – OCTOBER 22, 2017
by Jonas Hassen Khemiri, directed by Noël Raymond
Jonas Hassen Khemiri is one of Sweden’s best-known contemporary writers, and his outrageously dark political comedy ≈ [Almost Equal To] premiered to sold-out audiences at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm. In the play, everyone is overrun by numbers, begging, earning, scheming and stealing as they collide with the economy surrounding them. Politically subversive, ≈ [Almost Equal To] is a sharp exploration of money in modern life. Buy tickets.
Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Photo by Magnus Hallgren.
TICKET INFORMATION
Pillsbury House Theatre continues to offer free, low cost, or pick-your-own-price tickets for all of its productions. Free child care, provided by the staff of Pillsbury Early Education Center, is also available for select performances.
Season passes and single tickets are on sale now: purchase at pillsburyhousetheatre.org or by calling 612-825-0459. For information about group sales, call 612-787-3622.
ALSO IN THE 2017 SEASON
Chicago Avenue Project
We’re All in the Same Boat: May 14 & 15, 2017
Speak Your Mind: December 3 & 4, 2017
The Late Nite Series
November 4, 11 & 18, 2017
Naked Stages
January 11 – 20, 2018