The Thanksgiving Play
A World Premiere Table | Room | Stage Commission

The Thanksgiving Play

April 1 - April 30, 2018
Morrison Stage

By Larissa FastHorse (Sicangu Lakota)
Directed by Luan Schooler

A group of mismatched teachers and actors have been charged by the school district to devise an ethnically sensitive play to somehow celebrate both Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Month. In order to be as respectful and accurate as possible, the three white actors defer to the only Native American in the room for guidance and find their expectations of her insights are wildly misguided. In this wickedly funny satire, this foursome must find their way through a hilarious thicket of assumptions, historical perspectives and school district policies as the absurd pageant must go on!

  • Provocative Satire
  • Multiple Fellowship and Award-winning playwright
  • PEN USA Literary Award for Drama
  • TABLE|ROOM|STAGE commission

Teacher Resources

STUDY GUIDE! Download it here.

Morrison Stage

1515 SW Morrison St. Portland 97205

Press

“A razor-sharp spoof of progressive pretense that shows how people can convince themselves that they are doing good by doing nothing at all…”

Ben Waterhouse, The Oregonian

“…a hilarious illustration of the ineffectiveness of good intentions.”

TC Acena, Oregon ArtsWatch

“…funny, biting, and often much closer to the truth than it’s comfortable to admit.”

Krista Garver, Broadway World

“Larissa FastHorse’s The Thanksgiving Play, is a beautiful skewering of sanctimonious, upper middle-class white guilt.”

Megan Burbank, Portland Mercury

“FastHorse pokes fun at what we might call (to employ the horrid term currently in fashion) the burden of the ‘woke.'”

Marty Hughley, Oregon ArtsWatch

“The actors are all spot-on in their performances…”

Dennis Sparks,  Dennis Sparks Reviews

“To do satire well is a balancing act. Many things can go terribly wrong. Rest assured, FastHorse hits the bull’s eye every time she takes aim.”

Judy Nedry, Judy Nedry Reviews

“This doesn’t happen every season: In Oregon this April, you can see three new plays by Native women produced at major resident theatres.”

Madeline Sayet, American Theatre Magazine

Cast

Creative

Production Team

Megan Wilkerson
Scenic Designer
Emily Horton
Costume Designer
Kristeen Willis
Lighting Designer
Ed Littlefield
Composer / Sound Designer
Carol Ann Wohlmut
Stage Manager
Katrina Lind
Props Master
Jonathan Cole
Fight Choreographer

Photos

Videos