Cutting Ball Theatre Continues Season with ...AND JESUS MOONWALKS THE MISSISSIPPI by Marcus Gardley

Set on the banks of the Mississippi during the final days of the Civil War ...AND JESUS MOONWALKS THE MISSISSIPPI is a poetic journey of forgiveness and redemption. Marcus Gardley's play runs from March 12 to April 11 at the Cutting Ball Theatre.

Inspired by the myth of Demeter and Persephone, this thought-provoking fantasy play combines traditional storytelling, gospel music, and a wicked sense of humor to create a rich, imaginative world that allows trees to preach, rivers to waltz, and Jesus to moonwalk. Amy Mueller directs this profoundly moving story. A co-production with Playwrights Foundation, . . . AND JESUS MOONWALKS THE MISSISSIPPI was workshopped during Risk is This...The Cutting Ball New Experimental Plays Festival, the only play festival in America solely dedicated to experimental works for the stage.

About the production playwright Marcus Gardley says, "Jesus Moonwalks is in a lot of ways my signature play . . . this play has a personal resonance to me because it is based upon a story my great-grandmother used to tell about her father who fled the bonds of slavery and traveled the country in search of his family . . . It is my hope that the play opens the door for dialogue about the impact of myth, spirituality, and history on our national culture." One of the Bay Area's most important new poet-playwrights, Gardley was among Dramatists Magazine's 50 writers to watch in 2007.

Co-founded in 1999 by theater artists Rob Melrose and Paige Rogers, Cutting Ball Theater presents avant-garde works of the past, present, and future by re-envisioning classics, exploring seminal avant-garde texts, and developing new experimental plays. Cutting Ball Theater has partnered with Playwrights Foundation, Magic Theatre, and Z Space New Plays Initiative to commission new experimental works. The company has produced a number of World Premieres and West Coast Premieres, and re-imagined various classics. Recipient of the 2008 San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie award for outstanding talent in the performing arts, Cutting Ball Theater earned the Best of SF award in 2006 from SF Weekly, and was selected by San Francisco Magazine as Best Classic Theater in 2007.

WHEN:
Previews: March 12, 13, 18 at 8pm, March 14 at 5pm
Opens: March 19 at 8pm
Press opening: Friday, March 19 at 8pm
Closes: April 11 at 5pm

All performances Thursday-Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 5pm

WHERE:
The Cutting Ball Theater in residence at EXIT on Taylor
277 Taylor St., San Francisco

TICKETS:
For tickets ($15-30) and more information, the public may visit cuttingball.com or call
800-838-3006; discounts available for students and seniors

 

 

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