The Other Theatre Company Presents BENT, Now thru 7/26

The Other Theatre Company and Artistic Director Carin Silkaitis have announced the company's second production in its inaugural season, Bent, written by Martin Sherman and directed by Keira Fromm, at Strawdog Theatre, 3829 N. Broadway, tonight, June 27 - July 26. Preview performances are June 27 at 4 and 8 p.m. Opening/Press night is Wednesday, July 1 at 8 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m. (no show Thursday, July 9) Saturdays at 4 and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. Preview tickets are $20 with the regular run tickets $25 and may be purchased at www.buzzonstage.com/theatres/other-theatre-company. For more information, please visit theothertheatrecompany.com.

Under the unrelenting gaze of concentration camp guards, two men become riveted by each other and the tender, terrified love that sparks between them. A Pulitzer Prize-nominated WWII drama from Martin Sherman, Bent takes place in 1930s Berlin, as two lovers are thrown onto a train to Dachau as part of the Gestapo's plan to cleanse the city of "perverts." One denies his lover at the hands of the guards -- but while at the camp he learns that true dignity lies in acknowledging who he is. Compelling, erotic, and even heartbreakingly witty, Bent focuses on Nazi persecution of queer-identified people, whose experiences have often been cast to the margins of Holocaust narratives. Sherman draws exquisitely detailed characters, each of whom embodies a different personal relationship to queer (or "bent") desire in 1930s Germany.

With this subtle, delicate, critically-acclaimed drama, The Other Theatre Company continues to explore the theme of its first season: Staging the Past, Acting in the Present. The company looks forward to dynamic conversation with attending audiences about what Bent-written in 1979, recalling 1934-might ask humanity to think and do in the now of the 21st century. From Russian laws prohibiting promotion of "non-traditional" sexualities to Indiana's recent legalization of bigotry under the guise of religious freedom, attempts to suppress queer identity and practice still abound, in the US and in many places around the world. What are the challenges of living queer desire today? How do those challenges differ across contexts? What is the future of queer-positive organizing? What are the responsibilities of allies to queer-identifying people? What happens to one's body when the stakes of being yourself are as high as they can get?

The cast for Bent includes: Nik Kourtis (Max), Alex Weisman* (Horst), Will Von Vogt (Rudy/Ensemble), Joe Bianco (Greta/Ensemble), Mike Carey (Wolf/Ensemble), Stephen Rader (Uncle Freddie/Ensemble), Chris Rickett (The Guard/Nazi Officers) and Matt Pratt (The Officer, Nazi Officers). * indicates member of Actors Equity Association

The production team for Bent includes: Keira Fromm (Director), Michael Johannsen^ (Scenic Designer), Christopher Kriz (Sound Designer), John Kelly (Lighting Designer), Brittany Bodley (Costume Designer), Barbara Charlene (Fight Choreographer), Tyler Stacey (Production Manager), Ashley Pettit (Stage Manager), Bryan Renaud^ (Assistant Director), Sarah Jackson (Dramaturg/Assistant Director) and Ashley Pettit (Assistant Stage Manager).

^ indicates member of The Other Theatre Company Artistic Staff, Collective, or Board Member

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