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VCUarts Theatre presents: MEN ON BOATS

November 12, 2021 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm $5 – $15
actors in costume with graphic of men on boats

Location

W. E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts
922 Park Avenue
Richmond, VA, 23284
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Organizer

Theatre

November 11th – 14th

VCUarts Theatre presents Men on Boats, a gender-expansive reimagination of the 1869 expedition of the Green and Colorado Rivers to the Grand Canyon as documented by John Wesley Powell.

This production marks the department’s return to Raymond Hodges Theatre since the pandemic closed theatres worldwide in spring of 2020; this will be our first in-person production with a live audience inside the Singleton Center in almost two years!

Masks will be required for all audience members. No food or drink permitted.

Tickets prices range from $5-15. Discounts available for students, seniors, and VCU faculty, staff, and alumni. Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the main office at (804) 828-1514.

About Men on Boats

Men on Boats is a meticulously researched play that aims to be only “accurate-ish.” It is based on the published diary of John Wesley Powell who was hired by the United States Government to map the unexplored West. The story follows a band of ten men piled into four boats as they journey down the Green and Colorado rivers, during a period of American expansion that was justified through the widely held cultural belief in “Manifest Destiny.” While Backhaus’ script remains faithful to the narrative of Powell’s writings, there are two notable changes for the purposes of storytelling—the use of a modern speech and the casting.

Men on Boats employs an identity-conscious casting model which creates a unique critique of the ways our histories have failed to capture the full story. Such casting allows Men on Boats to utilize the power of camp, comedy, and dramatic reimagining to offer an insightful dialogue on the intersections of race, class, gender, and indignity as they relate to our understanding of America’s difficult history.

Performance Times

November 12 @ 8pm
November 13 @ 2pm
November 13 @ 8pm
November 14 @ 2pm
November 14 @ 8pm

Read more about the production here

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