To celebrate the season of the heart, audiences are invited to the Aurora Theatre stage for the emotional drama, Ontario Was Here, from February 10 - March 4, 2018. This world premiere, by award-winning playwright Darren Canady, weaves an insightful look at the lives of social workers who serve disadvantaged children, unveiling the strife that these workers bear as a result of trying to help others while navigating the emotional balance between their clients' lives and their own.
"Playwright Darren Canady has given us a rich, immensely complex, beautifully tragic and human story," said Cynthia D. Barker, Director. "Audiences will walk away charged and engaged in dialogue that poses more questions than answers. These questions are good questions, important questions - questions that lead us on a journey of great introspection and challenge us to unwaveringly strive to evolve into the best versions of ourselves, ultimately creating better relationships, communities and the world at large."
The story unfolds around Nathan and Penni, co-workers on the front lines of Kansas City's Department of Children and Families. Both Nathan and Penni share a passion for helping others, but when the matters of nine-year-old Ontario are transferred from Nathan's jurisdiction to Penni's, tempers flare, and the two find themselves at odds over Ontario's best interests. As tensions escalate between the pair and their varied perspectives, the stakes regarding Ontario's case become a matter of life and death.
Directed by Suzi Bass award nominee Cynthia D. Barker, of Aurora Theatre's production of The Mountaintop, the show includes a two-person cast featuring Brittany L. Smith as Penni and Broadway World Dallas Award winner Seun Soyemi as Nathan.
Ontario Was Here will play at Aurora Theatre February 10-March 4, 2018. Tickets are currently on sale; general admission single ticket prices range from $20-$30 and may be purchased online at http://bit.ly/ATOntario or by calling the Box Office at 678-226-6222. For more information on this production or other theater programming, please visit auroratheatre.com.
Photo Credit: Chris Bartelski
Seun Soyemi
Brittany L. Smith & Seun Soyemi
Seun Soyemi
Brittany L. Smith & Seun Soyemi
Brittany L. Smith
Brittany L. Smith & Seun Soyemi
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