Pioneer Players presents 'The Thanksgiving Play'
UW-Platteville's Department of Performing and Visual Arts-Theatre and Pioneer Players will present The Thanksgiving Play by Larissa FastHorse later this month.
Performances are scheduled for Nov. 18 at 11 a.m., Nov. 18-21 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. All performances will be in the Center for the Arts-Theatre on campus.
This satirical comedy centers around four well-meaning but culturally insensitive theatre artists as they attempt to create a politically correct elementary school play about the first Thanksgiving while struggling with their own biases and lack of Native American representation. The play premiered on Broadway in 2023, marking the first time a play by a Native American woman playwright was produced on Broadway.
“This play is a funny look at performative ‘wokeness’ and the centering of white voices," said theatre professor Ann Dillon Farrelly, the play's director. "The structure of the play allows us to follow the work of the four main characters while also giving us a glimpse at some of the questionable ways elementary and middle schools have commemorated Thanksgiving through performance. This comedy allows us to laugh at privilege while also understanding just how harmful it can be—even when people seemingly mean well. Performative allyship is just that, performative. And it perpetuates inaction and undermines real change.”
The cast includes Dakota Steltman as Logan; Joseph Herges as Jaxton; Gabe Farr as Caden; Taryn Dolan as Alicia; and Salem Adolphson, Alexis Allen-Price, Rose Bonson, Jaden Hawley and Ella Garrison as the ensemble. In addition to Farrelly, the production team includes UW-Platteville faculty and staff Jeffrey Strange as scenic designer; Sarah Strange as costume designer; and Laurel Capps as technical director. Students on the production staff include Ceci Pirwitz as lighting designer and Leila Kreul as stage manager. Members of the student running and wardrobe crews include Tim Fleener; Max Kasprzak; Kealie Black; Kylie Kantin; Dannie French; El Dalbey; and Nik Swiggum.
The production runs 90 minutes with no intermission. As with all theatre performances, audiences should research whether a show is appropriate for them. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $5 for students and those under 18. All tickets for the Nov. 18 performance are $5, as a part of our “One-Price Wednesday” special for plays in the CFA Theatre. For tickets, visit tickets.uwplatt.edu or call the University Box Office at 608-342-1298.