OPENING November 1
A WORLD PREMIERE
“Don’t look much like a hero to me.
Truthfully though I don’t think he ever really felt like one.
But that night at the barn was his shining moment,
and I’m about to take it away.”
What is justice, really? With our political landscape in tatters and talk of another Civil War on the horizon, The Day We Killed J. W. B. tackles the present through the lens of history. Presented during election season, this ambitious new play challenges us to look at race & justice in America in a new way…and it’s also kind of fun??
It’s the year 1878 & African-American siblings Alice and Samuel are out West working with a traveling theatre company. One day during a performance of King Lear, the lead actor falls ill and a mysterious stranger offers to replace him. This leads to a tragic turn of events, leaving Samuel in search of justice and nature itself planning its own retribution.
Baltimore playwright Sean Coe flips the script on history by placing our heroes in the path of one of history's most notorious men. With a playful, self-conscious tone and vivid characters, The Day We Killed J.W.B. tackles difficult, well-trod subjects–with real historical ties to Baltimore!--with a breath of fresh air.
(And yes, it’s that J.W.B.)
November 1-17, 2024
Performances: Thursday-Saturday @ 8pm & Sundays @ 2pm
TICKETS: $15-35
All performances take place at
The Voxel
9 W 25th St, Baltimore, MD 21218
For more about the venue, including travel & parking recommendations, please visit:
https://voxel.org/visit
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Ann Turiano (AEA) is a Baltimore-based theatremaker, arts administrator, and co-artistic director of Sisters Freehold.
She holds a BA from the Conservatory of Performing Arts at Point Park University and an MA from London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is a proud resident artist at Iron Crow Theatre, Baltimore’s award-winning queer theatre company.
Directing: The Sleepover (Sisters Freehold), kid simple: A Radio Play in the Flesh (Loyola University Maryland), Little Shop of Horrors, Alice in Wonderland, As You Like It, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Decision Height, and The Rover (Notre Dame of Maryland University), Jerusalem and The Quickening (Fells Point Corner Theatre), The Sea Voyage (Baltimore Shakespeare Factory), Mankind and The Zero Hour (Iron Crow Theatre), and the original devised work RSVP (Glass Mind Theatre). Teaching: Baltimore Center Stage, Everyman Theatre, St. Paul's School for Girls, Young Audiences Maryland, and City Theatre.
She has performed locally with Baltimore Center Stage, The Collaborative Theatre, The Strand, and Submersive Productions. annturiano.com
Photo by Rand Black
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Sean Coe is a Baltimore playwright and performer. His previous play, "Hand Through the Veil", premiered at An Die Musik, October 2021, in Baltimore. Other works include the pilot script “Beginnings and Bobby,” which won the Bare Bones International Film Festival Best TV Pilot Script for 2019, and was selected by the 2020 North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival.
Photo by Shealyn Jae