ArtsWest To Stage JOHN, Starring Marianne Owen And Suzy Hunt

In its Seattle premiere, Annie Baker's supernatural drama JOHN will play at ArtsWest starting March 14 and run Thursday through Sunday until April 7. Legendary performers Marianne Owen and Suzy Hunt will join ArtsWest newcombers Mi Kang and Sean Lally under the direction of Erin Murray.

In a story that could only come from the mind of playwright Annie Baker, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE FLICK, the eerie tale of JOHN follows a troubled young couple, Jenny and Elias, who visit a Gettysburg bed-and-breakfast in an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. With a cloud of infidelity hanging overhead, Elias sets out to see the sights while Jenny stays indoors; while there, she forms an unlikely connection with Mertis, the eccentric proprietor, and Genevieve, Mertis' blind friend, and the various spirits that seem to inhabit the old house - and the people within it.

"What I think makes John Such an extraordinary piece of theatre is poetry. We see poetry in the writing, but also in the situations," said ArtsWest Artistic Director Mathew Wright. "I like that Annie Baker's plays take their time. You're able to love these well-rounded, three-dimensional characters - a young millennial couple and two elderly women - because Baker crafts situations and people and gives them space to exist, and poetic situations for them to encounter and, in the case of the young couple, experience profound and surprising revelations."

Directing JOHN is Erin Murray, who returns to ArtsWest after directing the 2015 production of WONDERFUL LIFE. "When you're offered an Annie Baker play, you say yes. She's a fantastic writer of our time, and I'm so glad to be touching her work, especially for the first time with a Seattle premiere."

"JOHN is a story you can bring your best friend to and be talking about for months afterward," Murray added. "It breaks the mold in Seattle theatre, and asks the audience to ruminate on ideas rather than just get in your car and leave. There's a quiet power to that, and I'm proud to be a part of it."