Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Announces Casting for THE THANKSGIVING PLAY

Milwaukee Chamber Theatre announces full casting and production details for THE THANKSGIVING PLAY by Larissa Fasthorse and directed by Laura Gordon. THE THANKSGIVING PLAY opens Saturday, November 20th at 8pm. Preview night is on Friday, November 19th at 7:30pm. Tickets can be purchased via the MCT website, milwaukeechambertheatre.org/tickets or by calling 414-291-7800.

Larissa Fasthorse's play, THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, presents a team of terminally woke teaching artists whose good intentions collide with absurd assumptions in this blistering satire. Now live on stage after a celebrated run in MCT's 20/21 virtual season. Logan is a high school drama teacher who loves to push limits. But she runs the risk of getting carried over the edge with her next play: a celebration of the first Thanksgiving that also honors Native American Heritage Month. With the help of her yoga-teaching busker boyfriend, an elementary school history expert determined to make all his theatrical dreams come true, and an "authentic" actor from Los Angeles representing all Native Americans, what could possibly go wrong?

THE THANKSGIVING PLAY is directed by Laura Gordon, a Milwaukee based actor and director. Laura's directing credits include She Stoops to Conquer, The Unexpected Man, An Ideal Husband, The Royal Family, Seascape, Old Times (American Players Theatre); The Foreigner, Venus in Fur, Almost Maine (Milwaukee Repertory Theater); Boeing, Boeing (Indiana Rep); Measure for Measure, Love's Labour's Lost, The Winter's Tale (Utah Shakespeare Festival); Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (Santa Cruz Shakespeare); In the Next Room or the vibrator play (Actors Theater of Louisville); Russian Transport, Amelia, Skin Tight (Renaissance Theaterworks); The Revolutionists (Next Act Theatre); Heisenberg, Red, Going to St. Ives (Forward Theater). Her acting credits include Winnie in Happy Days, Margie in Good People, Linda Loman in Death of a Salesman, Sister Aloysius in Doubt, Elizabeth in Richard III, Maureen in The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Laura is a Lunt-Fontanne Fellow and an Associate Artist with the Milwaukee Repertory Theater. She received her MFA in Acting from the University of Iowa and is a member of SDC and Actors Equity Association.

"THE THANKSGIVING PLAY is a comedy. It is satire. It is a safe space to laugh at ourselves and genuinely enjoy the evening. At the same time, it is a rarity: a Native voice. No grunts, no broken English, none of the blood curdling yelps referenced by the AITE. Just ourselves; on the history, the forefront, and the future of America theatre," says Dramaturg, Ben Wilson

The creative team includes Stage Management by Kira Neighbors, Assistant Stage Management by Sydney Smith, Scenic and Lighting Design by Jason Fassl, Costume Design by Misti Bradford, Sound Design by Joseph Cerqua, Dramaturgy by Benjamin Wilson, Scenic Construction by Ron Scot Fry, and Properties Design by Jim Guy.

"As a comedy, the play creates a wonderful space to reflect upon-looking at you, fellow well-meaning white folks-our own disastrously failed attempts at bridging cultural divides between our friends and neighbors and consider how we can redouble our efforts and do better" says MCT Artistic Director, Brent Hazelton.

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