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The country’s most-produced comedy of 2019 arrives in the DMV courtesy of Olney Theatre Center to open our 2021-22 season! This hilarious sendup of “white wokeness” features an undaunted theatre teacher desperately trying to create a culturally sensitive play celebrating Thanksgiving: one that challenges stereotypes, meets all the requirements of a Native American Heritage Month grant, and pacifies the parents. Larissa FastHorse’s groundbreaking satire on the politics of representation throws together the overly-ambitious drama teacher, her yoga-bro actor friend, a history teacher with playwriting aspirations, and an “ethnically-ambiguous” L.A. actress to devise their Thanksgiving play, only to find themselves quickly sabotaged by myth, confounded by history, and drawn into a hysterical project of dramatic pretzel-twisting. 

Featuring: Parker Drown (A Chorus Line), Megan Graves (Oil), David Schlumpf (Elf the Musical), and Dani Stoller (The Humans).

Not yet ready to come back for in-person theatre? You can now stream our production of The Thanksgiving Play from home until October 31! 

View the paperless program here on your phone, desktop, or tablet.

By
Larissa FastHorse

Directed by
Raymond O. Caldwell

Scenic Design 
Milagros Ponce de León

Costume Design
Jeannette Christensen

Lighting Design
Alberto Segarra

Projections Design
Kelly Colburn
Dylan Uremovich

Sound Design
Tosin Olufolabi

Stage Manager
Tashiana Quiñones

 

2021-2022 Season
Part of the 2021-2022 Season

Watch the Trailer

Inside The Thanksgiving Play with Director Raymond O. Caldwell

"deliciously in touch with our walking-on-eggshells moment" - The Washington Post

  • Megan Graves

    Logan
  • Dani Stoller

    Alicia
  • Parker Drown

    Jaxton
  • David Schlumpf

    Caden
  • Conor Patrick Donahue

    Jaxton/Caden Understudy
  • Mishy Jacobson

    Logan/Alicia Understudy
  • Larissa FastHorse

    Playwright
  • Raymond O. Caldwell

    Director
  • Tashiana Quiñones

    Production Stage Manager
  • Milagros Ponce de León

    Set Designer
  • Jeannette Christensen

    Costume Designer
  • Alberto Segarra

    Lighting Designer
  • Kelly Colburn

    Co-Projections Designer
  • Dylan Uremovich

    Co-Projections Designer
  • Tosin Olufolabi

    Sound Designer

Reviews

On the Blog

Behind-the-Scenes Discussions

The History of This Land: Introducing Our Land Acknowledgement
Friday, October 1, 6:00 - 7:15 pm
Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

Speakers include Piscataway Elder Rico Newman, Natalie Williams of the Sandy Spring Slave Museum and Quaker historian Tom Farquhar of the Sandy Spring Museum.

Watch the video of this event

Appreciating the Indigenous History of Maryland
Saturday, October 9, 4:30 - 6:00 pm
Mulitz-Gudelsky Theatre Lab

Speakers: Peter Brooks, Native American activist; Keith Colston, Administrative Director of the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs (MCIA)

Watch the video of this event.

Health and Safety

Please note that seating for The Thanksgiving Play is not socially distanced.

Masks and proof of COVID vaccination are required at all performances of The Thanksgiving PlayThis production is not recommended for children under 12 and they will not be admitted. At this time, we do not accept proof of a recent negative COVID test in lieu of vaccination.

In addition, concessions will not be available at this production. Consumption of outside food or drink in the theatre is strictly prohibited.

If you are a ticket holder and are feeling any of the possible symptoms of a COVID infection, please stay home. You can exchange your ticket for another performance and there will be a basic streaming version of The Thanksgiving Play available to ticket holders who opt-out of physical attendance. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Visit our Health and Safety page to learn more about how we are keeping you safe as we return to the stage.

The Thanksgiving Play

September 29 - October 31 2021

Box Office: 301.924.3400

Open Wednesday - Saturday: 12:00PM - 6:00PM

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