An elementary school teacher, trying to be culturally sensitive, assembles a four-person crew to write and produce a Thanksgiving play that won't make the same mistakes of years past. Thing is, the group is all-white and as events prove, have little knowledge of history or Native Americans.
Their well intentioned but significantly flawed attempt to make things better are all part of the satirical comedy
The Thanksgiving Play (2015)by Larissa FastHorse, who happens to be the first Native American woman to have a Broadway production.
Directed by 4th Wall Theatre Co. Artistic Director Philip Lehl, the 90-minute, one-act stars Faith Fossett (
The Thin Place), Brandon Hearnsberger (
Gloria), Santry Rush (
Jesus Hopped the 'A' Train) and 4th Wall newcomer Alicia Beard.
"The first reason to do this play is, it's hilarious. It's a hilarious comedy," Lehl said. "The writer Larissa FastHorse is a truly gifted comic writer.. The other plays of hers that I've read are equally as funny so whenever I find a good comedy that doesn't have more than eight actors in it, I'm like, let's try to do this."
"I would guess she's one of the only Indigenous writers to be produced on Houston stages. So her voice is special; i's unique. And she deserves to be heard for that reason alone. Add to it that it's hilarious"
"It is a satire on white people's liberal wokeness," Lehl said. "That also appealed to me because I see myself as a liberal who is struggling to be woke and keep up with what's happening in our world today and I make a lot of mistakes. I recognize myself in this script."
"Thanksgiving works especially well because of the tie in to indigenious people to whatever the original Thanksgiving was — which, by the way, was up for debate in this play," Lehl said.
[For longtime Alley fans, former Alley company member Jeffrey Bean was in the original New York off Broadway production of The Thanksgiving Play.]
The playwright has decreed that the setting of the play can be "anywhere but Los Angeles. " In the 4th Wall version, they're setting it in an elementary school in Houston. Lehl said th e playwright seems to have meant the setting to be in a fairlylarge city since one of the characters is a high school theater teacher who's put on some serious adult plays "that's got her in hot water with some parent groups."
Asked who will like this play, Lehl said "Anybody who's interested in having a really great laugh at some very serious issues that are confronting our country right now."
Performances are scheduled for March 8-23 at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays (Monday, March 18 a pay-what-you-can performance) at Spring Street Studios, 1924 Spring Street. For more information, call 832-767-4991 or visit [email protected]. $28-$63..
