Clybourne Park
By Bruce Norris
Directed by Nathan Jerkins
May 26 - June 5, 2016
Featuring Stephen Price, Babs George, Robert Matney, Liz Beckham, Jarrett King, Michelle Alexander and Ryan Crowder
Set in the world of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, Clybourne Park is a razor-sharp new satire that takes a hilarious, yet unflinching look at race and real estate in America. Its explosive combination of ferocious truth-telling and laugh out loud entertainment has not only garnered a list of supreme honors – including the Tony Award, Olivier Award and Pulitzer Prize for best new play – but has made it one of the most highly produced American plays of the 21st century.
The first act opens on a house in the fictional neighborhood of Clybourne Park. It is 1959, and community leaders are anxiously trying to block the sale of the home to what would be the area’s first African American family. In act two, fifty years have passed, and the tables have turned. It is now 2009, and Clybourne Park is predominantly black. A white family has purchased the house and neighbors are battling to keep the tide of gentrification at bay.
Awards and honors
Austin Critics Table award for outstanding theatre production
Austin Critics Table award for outstanding performance by an individual, Liz Beckham
Austin Critics Table award for outstanding set design, Desiderio Roybal
Austin Critics Table award for outstanding sound design, Lowell Bartholomee
Austin Critics Table nomination for outstanding theatre direction, Nathan Jerkins
Austin Critics Table nomination for outstanding performance by an ensemble
B Iden Payne Award for outstanding featured actor in a drama, Robert Matney
B Iden Payne Award nomination for outstanding featured actresss in a drama, Liz Beckham
B Iden Payne Award nomination for outstanding direction of a drama, Nathan Jerkins
Sponsors
City of Austin, Johnson Outdoor Advertising and Texas Commission on the Arts