21 & Over: 21st Century Plays for a 21st Century Audience

 

21 & Over includes a line up of staged readings of contemporary works and special events for a mature audience. The readings include simple, suggested technical elements and moments of physical blocking.  The performances and events are free and open to the public with an opportunity for donations. No tickets or reservations are necessary.

 

Most productions will be held in the Howard Drew Theatre at OCP at 7:30 p.m. The 21 & Over schedule for the 2010-11 season is as follows:

 

August 29, 2011         Red Theater Omaha (special guest artists)
September 12, 2011    End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer
October 24, 2011        Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom by Jennifer Haley
November 7, 2011       Manouche Moustache (special guest artists)
January 9, 2012          Live Broadway Karaoke! (special event)
February 20, 2012       The Encyclopedia Show (special guest artists)
March 12, 2012           Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker
May 7, 2012                The Candy Project (special guest artists)
June 18, 2012              Passion Play by Sarah Ruhl
 

 

21 & Over productions are intended for a mature audience and discretion is advised. For more information on 21 & Over and other OCP alternative programs, contact Amy Lane, Resident Director, at alane@omahaplayhouse.com or (402) 553-4890, ext. 164.

 

21 & Over sponsors: Omaha Steaks and Mammel Foundation

21 & Over media sponsor: www.Omahype.com


21 & Over Series for 2011-12 Season 

Red Theater Omaha

Aug. 29, 2011

Kicking off the 2011/12 21 & Over Series is locally based theatre company, Red Theater Omaha. A collective of young local theatre artists, Red Theater performs short plays written by, about and for a specific audience, time and location. Red Theater offers a youthful, aggressive, communal and interactive experience in a unique evening of theatrical exploration. 

 

End Days by Deborah Zoe Laufer

Sept. 12, 2011

Sixteen-year-old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her father, a World Trade Center survivor, hasn't changed out of his pajamas since that fateful day. Her mother has begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a teenage Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking will save them all. Commemorating the tenth anniversary of 9/11, End Days is an enormously funny, warm and uplifting play.

 

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom by Jennifer Haley

Oct. 24, 2011

Something isn’t quite right in this quiet cul-de-sac of identical homes. Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom plunges you into a household setting where the arrival of an online horror video game begins to blur the line between what is real and what is just a game. Filled with mystery, tension, humor and the undead, be ready to get sucked into the chaos of a virtual reality where fear has a life of its own. A fun, spine-tingling, zombie-filled ride through the scariest place on earth…suburbia.

 

Manouche Moustache

Nov. 7, 2011

Join us as gypsy jazz trio, Manouche Moustache, brings their unique brand of acoustic jazz/vaudeville standup to 21 & Over! The brothers Guy, Pierre and Julian immigrated from a gypsy caravan meandering about rural France with an occasional stop in the capital to sell their wares and play for a crowd of young professionals.  They made their way to Omaha to become well-paid jazz musicians and respected U.S. citizens. (They are still working to achieve both of those goals.)

 

Live Broadway Karaoke!

Jan. 9, 2012        

We’ve got a piano, an accompanist and a microphone. You’ve got a burning desire to perform at the Playhouse. This is the night when all your Broadway dreams will come true…

 

The Encyclopedia Show

Feb. 20, 2012

Brought to you from Omaha Spoken Word artist, Katie F-S and the minds of Chicago poets and producers Robbie Q. Telfer and Shanny Jean Maney, The Encyclopedia Show is a live variety extravaganza that commissions local and touring artists and experts from many disciplines to use their individual talents to present a different verbal encyclopedia entry each month. Get ready for a fun, interactive night; The Encyclopedia Show is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
 

Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker

March 12, 2012

When four lost New Englanders who enroll in Marty's six-week-long community-center drama class begin to experiment with harmless games, hearts are quietly torn apart and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. Called an “absorbing, unblinking and sharply funny play” by the New York Times, Circle Mirror Transformation celebrates the subtle and surprising power of creativity.

 

The Candy Project

May 7, 2012       

This fresh local company is dedicated to bringing contemporary, intimate and awesome musical theatre to the Omaha area. Join us as they present Kooman and Dimond’s “Homemade Fusion,” a vibrant, cutting-edge new song cycle. The Candy Project is musical theatre for a new generation.

 

Passion Play by Sarah Ruhl

June 18, 2012    

From the author of last season’s hit, The Vibrator Play, comes this provocative epic masterpiece of the intersection of belief and the make-believe. A poetic and quirky triptych, Passion Play follows three sets of amateur performers in three different eras as they grapple with the unsettling ways in which the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection becomes a living presence in their own lives. With a dynamic storyline that leaps through time to portray characters like Queen Elizabeth, Hitler and Ronald Reagan, Passion Play is filled with playful and profound moments that will challenge your ideas about religion, politics and the inherent conflicts of human nature.