Curio Theater Company presents “The Thanksgiving Play,” Oct. 23-Nov. 9

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — “The Thanksgiving Play” transforms the stage into a classroom at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community.

Tim Martin directs production.

The play was written by Larissa FastHorse, a Lakota playwright.

“She wrote a play about four white people,” Martin says. “You are tasked with putting on a culturally sensitive Thanksgiving play for elementary school students.”

These four aspiring playwrights don’t want to get upset.

“It’s just a hilarious cast,” he says.

There’s Logan, an elementary school drama teacher, and her boyfriend Jaxton.

“A kind of super-woke activist,” says Martin.

“I play Caden Green, an elementary school teacher but also an aspiring actor,” says actor Paul Harrold. “And he knows so much about American history.”

“I play Alicia, the only professional actress hired,” says actress Felicia Leicht.

Alicia got the job because Logan thought she was Native American.

“My look is super flexible,” says Leicht as Alicia.

“It’s absolutely a comedy,” says Martin. “They show us the myths we all learned in elementary school that were absolutely false.”

When the play premiered on Broadway last year, Larissa FastHorse became the first known Native American playwright to have a show produced on Broadway.

“Basically, all four of them are very, very well-meaning people,” says Martin. “We see everyone else’s stories as our own, and through this piece, one of the things we learn is how to listen to the stories that aren’t being told.”

Curio Theater Company presents “The Thanksgiving Play” October 23-November 9 at the Calvary Center for Culture and Community in West Philadelphia.

Curio Theater Company | “The Thanksgiving Play” | Tickets
The Calvary Center for Culture and Community
4740 Baltimore Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143