IN A WORD to Run 4/16-5/2 at CPT

Cleveland Public Theatre (CPT) Executive Artistic Director Raymond Bobgan presents the National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere of in a word by Lauren Yee. Previous work by playwright Yee has been called "savvy and affecting" (Time Out Chicago on Samsara) and her characteristic "surreal plot twists and idiosyncratic tone...serve to advance an unabashedly heartfelt message about the value of love and human relationships." (Washington Post on The Hatmaker's Wife)

Yee's most recent work, in a word, will be run April 16-May 2 at Cleveland Public Theatre's James Levin Theatre, directed by CPT Associate Artistic Director Beth Wood.

In partnership with the National New Play Network, three other US companies will premiere the show within the next year-the San Francisco Playhouse (Bill English, Artistic Director; Susi Damilano, Producing Director; San Francisco, CA), Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company in San Diego (Lydia Fort, Executive Artistic Director; San Diego, CA) and Strawdog Theatre Company (Hank Boland, Artistic Director; Chicago, IL). The National Rolling World Premiere is a program developed through the National New Play Network, towards advancing the work of emerging playwrights. For more information, visit nnpn.org.

Meet Fiona, a mother who has suffered an imaginable loss. It is the two-year anniversary of her young son's disappearance and, still, nothing makes sense. Not her blasé husband, the incompetent detective, or the neighborhood kidnapper who keeps introducing himself in the checkout line. When Fiona delves back into her memories of that fateful day to uncover the missing piece, logic buckles and language breaks. At turns lyrical, poignant and absurd, Lauren Yee's breathtaking in a word chronicles Fiona's attempts to make sense of the past-a place where grief and comedy collide, and ordinary turns of phrase take on dangerous new meanings.

The production stars Liz Conway (Proof, Loush Sisters DO the Nutcracker) as Fiona, Mark Rabant (Antebellum) as her husband, Guy, and Matt O'Shea (4,000 Miles, Tender Napalm, Belleville, A Civil War Christmas) as Fiona's missing son, Tristan, along with numerous supporting roles.