FAMILIAR Extends Through March 11 at Wooly Mammoth
By: Julie Musbach Feb. 23, 2018
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company announces the third production of its 2017-2018 season, Familiar. Written by Danai Gurira and directed by Theatre J artistic director Adam Immerwahr, Familiar will run from February 5 to March 11, 2018.
It is winter in Minnesota, and an immigrant Zimbabwean family is preparing for the wedding of their eldest daughter. But when the bride insists on observing roora, a traditional bride-price ceremony, it opens a deep rift in the household. Rowdy and affectionate, Familiar pitches tradition against assimilation among the members of one devoted family. Which will prove stronger: the customs they keep... or the secrets they've kept buried?
Familiar is the fourth Woolly production by Tony-nominated playwright Danai Gurira, after successful runs of Eclipsed (2016 Tony nominee for Best Play) in 2009 and The Convert in 2013. Woolly also produced In the Continuum, which Gurira co-created with playwright Nikkole Salter, in 2006.
"In Familiar, Danai Gurira shares a story inspired by her experience as the daughter of Zimbabwean-American immigrants to our country," says Woolly Mammoth artistic director Howard Shalwitz. "It is full of fascinating cultural details that may be new and surprising, but the contours of the struggle will be... well, familiar. Like the members of my family, and perhaps everyone's, each character represents a specific blend between the old and the new, between tradition on the one hand and personal re-invention on the other."
As an actress, Gurira currently stars as Michonne, one of the most popular characters in AMC's critically-acclaimed series The Walking Dead. She will also be featured in the upcoming Marvel films Black Panther (which opens February 16, 2018) and Avengers: Infinity War. Gurira's other film credits include Mother of George, The Visitor, 3 Backyards, and Restless City.
Gurira-a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University and the recipient of the prestigious Whiting Writers Award (2012)-is co-founder and President of Almasi, a Zimbabwean American Dramatic Arts Collaborative Organization. Danai was born in the US and raised in Zimbabwe by Zimbabwean parents. She holds an MFA from Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.
In Woolly's production of Familiar, company member Shannon Dorsey stars as Nyasha. She is joined by Inga Ballard (Marvelous), Kim Sullivan (Donald), Twinkle Burke (Margaret), Cheryl Lynn Bruce (Anne), Sharina Martin (Tendi), Drew Kopas (Chris), and Andy Truschinski (Brad). Adam Immerwahr, artistic director of Theater J in Washington and one of Gurira's long-time collaborators, is directing the production. The remaining members of the production team include Woolly company member Colin K. Bills (lighting design); Paige Hathaway (set design); Karen Perry (costume design); Robert Croghan (costume design); Justin Schmitz (sound design), and John Keith Hall (stage manager).
Familiar runs February 5, 2018 to March 4, 2018, with performances: Wednesday-Friday at 8 pm; Saturday at 3 pm and 8 pm (except February 10, which features an 8 pm performance only); Sunday at 2 pm and 7 pm (except Sunday, February 11, which features a 7 pm performance only); with two Pay What You Can performances on Monday, February 5, and Tuesday, February 6 at 8 pm.
PERFORMANCE CALENDAR
- February 23, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- February 24, 2018: Performances at 3 pm and 8 pm
- February 25, 2018: Performances at 2 pm and 7 pm
- February 28, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- March 1, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- March 2, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- March 3, 2018: Performances at 3 pm and 8 pm
- March 4, 2018: Performances at 2 pm and 7 pm
- March 7, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- March 8, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- March 9, 2018: Performance at 8 pm
- March 10, 2018: Performances at 3 pm and 8 pm
- March 11, 2018: Performances at 2 pm and 7 pm
TICKETS
Visit us online at woollymammoth.net, by phone at (202) 393-3939, via email at tickets@woollymammoth.net, or in person at the Box Office, located at 641 D Street NW.
Patrons who are 30-years-old and younger may, at any time, purchase Section B tickets for $20 to any performance. There are also discounts available for educators, first responder men and women and active US military personnel, spouses, and veterans. More information is available at woollymammoth.net.
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