Des Moines 2022
Opened: November 29, 2022Closing: January 08, 2023
Des Moines - 2022 Off-Broadway History , Info & More
Theatre for a New Audience
262 Ashland Pl Brooklyn, NY 11217
Des Moines, the final play by late American author Denis Johnson, is his first at TFANA. It is a sensationally mysterious work. Chance events—including a plane crash, a rescued wedding ring, a frightening diagnosis, and makeup advice kindly offered to a louche Catholic priest—bring a group of lonely and haunted characters together for a debauch that becomes an unlikely communion. Arin Arbus directs the New York premiere of this searing and tender drama about the specter of death and the stubborn pursuit of grace among those who barely believe in it.
Arin Arbus, who has staged Shakespeare and American and European Classics for TFANA, first explored Des Moines in a TFANA workshop with Johnson. She observes, “Denis Johnson was a keen and loving observer of life. He wrote about what’s holy and hilarious and hard in our daily lives and was interested in the eternal human struggle to be awake to life in an uncontrollable and incomprehensible universe.”
FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Des Moines
DES MOINES: KITCHEN SINK NATURALISM, TURNED ON ITS HEAD
8 / 10
Denis Johnson’s play takes place entirely in a kitchen. But Des Moines, being given its New York premiere by Theatre for a New Audience, is as far from a kitchen sink drama as you can get. Sure, it starts out that way, with a middle-aged couple, Dan (Arliss Howard) and Marta (Johnna Day), sitting down for a snack and debating such issues as butter versus margarine while Dan eats some leftover microwaved spaghetti. But it isn’t long before this unsettling work from the late author of such acclaimed novels as Tree of Smoke and the short story collection Jesus’ Son turns into something far stranger. During the course of the evening all of the characters liberally consume the potent alcoholic drinks known as depth charges, and this play carries a depth charge of its own.
‘Des Moines’ Review: Drowning in the Drink
6 / 10
And yet the odd characters in “Des Moines,” which had its New York premiere on Friday night at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, can’t even use the depth chargers (as they call the drink) that they consume as an excuse for their peculiarities. The play, written by Denis Johnson and presented by Theater for a New Audience with Evenstar Films, drops a cast of characters into the depths and doesn’t try to reel them back in. Instead, we’re often the ones lost at sea.
1 - 5 of 5
DES MOINES Starring Michael Shannon & More Extends at TFANA
by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 21, 2022
by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 21, 2022
Theatre for a New Audience has announced the extension of the Off-Broadway premiere of Denis Johnson’s Des Moines. The final play from the late author now runs through January 8, 2023 (extended from an original closing date of January 1).
Review Roundup: DES MOINES Opens Off-Broadway!
by Blair Ingenthron - December 17, 2022
by Blair Ingenthron - December 17, 2022
Critics have weighed in on DES MOINES, written by the late Denis Johnson and directed by Arin Arbus. The play, starring Michael Shannon, Hari Nef, Johanna Day, and more, opened December 16th at Theatre For A New Audience and runs through January 1st.
DES MOINES Starring Michael Shannon & More Announces New Preview & Opening Dates
by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 1, 2022
by Chloe Rabinowitz - December 1, 2022
Theatre for a New Audience has announced new preview, press, and opening dates for Denis Johnson’s Des Moines. Due to the detection of Covid within the Des Moines company, performances November 29 – December 3 have been canceled, with the production now beginning December 4.
Preview Performances of DES MOINES at Theatre for a New Audience Rescheduled to Due Covid
by Chloe Rabinowitz - November 28, 2022
by Chloe Rabinowitz - November 28, 2022
Due to Covid cases within the company, Theatre for a New Audience is canceling five preview performances of the Off-Broadway premiere of iconic American writer Denis Johnson's Des Moines, directed by Arin Arbus and featuring Johanna Day, Arliss Howard, Hari Nef, Michael Shannon, and Heather Alicia Simms.
Michael Shannon, Johanna Day, Hari Nef & More to Star in DES MOINES Off-Broadway Premiere at TFANA
by Chloe Rabinowitz - October 20, 2022
by Chloe Rabinowitz - October 20, 2022
Theatre for a New Audience will present Denis Johnson’s Des Moines, the final play from the late author, and the first play by Johnson TFANA has staged, November 29, 2022–January 1, 2023, at Polonsky Shakespeare Center.
Des Moines History
Other Productions of Des Moines
| 2022 | Off-Broadway |
Theatre for a New Audience Off-Broadway Production Off-Broadway |
Videos