MANAHATTA
Directed by Laurie Woolery
Movement Direction by Ty Defoe
Manahatta is a dramatic play written by Mary Kathryn Nagle. The play takes place in 21st century Oklahoma, as well as both 21st and 17th century Manahatta (popularly known as Manhattan Island). The show follows Jane Snake as she rises the ranks of Wall Street investment firm Lehman Brothers in the years leading up to and during the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, her family, specifically her mother, Bobbie, faces financial ruin following the death of her husband. The show also mirrors its characters in early 17th century Manahatta, depicting the arrival of Dutch settlers representing the Dutch East India Company, who subsequently take the land of and massacre the Delaware Lenape people, beginning the process of driving them out of Manahatta and Lenapehoking.
The show seeks to draw parallels between the original process of colonization and genocide towards Native Americans during the colonial era in what would become the United States to the continued colonial process and removal/denial of culture, perpetuated in part by the system of capitalism.
Starring: Rainbow Dickerson, Elizabeth Frances, David Kelly, Jeffrey King, Enrico Nassi, Joe Tapper and Sheila Tousey.
Scenic Design: Marcelo Martínez García
Costume Design: Lux Haac
Lighting Design: Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew
Sound Design and Composition: Paul James Prendergast
tHE TEAM