WHAT to Open 30th Season with THE TRIALS OF GERTRUDE MOODY

Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater opens its 30th anniversary summer season with The Trials of Gertrude Moody, a world premiere by Kimberly Burke.

Trudy Moody is the last of her kind. An orphaned parrot, raised and imprinted by humans, Trudy overcomes 400 years of hardship across three continents to become an international fashion icon. Directed by Jef Hall-Flavin, this world premiere pays tribute to WHAT's early years with puppetry, shadow play, and scenic elements and props that become costumes (and vice versa).

Three actors cover multiple roles, as the story weaves simultaneously through the present and the past. Bethany Caputo and John Long make their WHAT debut in this production, while Laura Latreille returns to the company for another season (Utility Monster, Ruby Tuesday, Killer Joe and others).

The play came to WHAT through Jef Hall-Flavin, who met Burke at the Playwright's Center in Minneapolis, where she was a Jerome Fellow. "Amid the incongruity of a flightless parrot turning into a famous fashion designer over the course of 400 years lays a deeply philosophical play," Hall-Flavin said. "Trudy's journey effortlessly and often hilariously points at ideas about gender norms, cultural boundaries, creation myths, human trafficking, physical beauty, patriarchal privilege, feminine identity, and, ultimately, what it means to be human. To me, this is the mark of a good play. It is why I go to the theater: to explore ideas larger than my own, and to be delighted while doing so."

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Sound Design - Top 3

1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys

29.4% of votes

2. John Shivers - Chess

15.8% of votes

3. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

8.4% of votes

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