The Catastrophic Theatre to Present Limited Engagement of Wallace Shawn's THE DESIGNATED MOURNER

The Catastrophic Theatre will present a limited engagement of The Designated Mourner by Wallace Shawn, with performances from April 10 through April 25.

Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets to all performances are Pay-What-You-Can, and this production is recommended for audiences 12 and older.

Through a series of monologues and short scenes, three characters walk audiences through a labyrinthine tale spanning the years before, during, and after a populist uprising in an unnamed country, now teetering on the edge of authoritarianism, whose government has targeted the cultural intelligentsia for imprisonment and execution. As the story unwinds, it plumbs the depths of love, contempt, privilege, enemies, beauty, envy, "the self," and what, if anything, people are willing to sacrifice for the things they believe.

Greg Dean plays Jack, a self-described "former student of English literature who went downhill from there." Patricia Duran plays Jack's refined, stolid ex-wife Judy. Charlie Scott plays Judy's famous father Howard, an esteemed writer whose early expressions of sympathy for his nation's poor continue to pose a threat to him and his circle.

"One problem with most political theatre is that, for whatever reason, those who attend the theatre and those who work in it tend to share a broad set of values," said director Jason Nodler. "In that environment political theatre is unable to perform its most basic function. The Designated Mourner works as political theatre because it doesn't function as political theatre. There's no moral to the story. There's no apparent debate. Questions of right and wrong come quietly, even covertly, encouraging you to ask yourself again and again, 'Would I do that? Am I doing it now? Is it the right thing to do?' That's why it works as political theatre. The real debate happens after the play."

The Catastrophic Theatre has a long history with Wallace Shawn, having produced Our Late Night, Marie and Bruce, Evening at the Talk House, and The Designated Mourner, with this production marking the third time producing the last.

Dean, Duran, and Nodler reprise their roles from the 2017 production. They are joined by Charlie Scott, a Catastrophic/IBP company member for 30 years whose acting credits include Waiting for Godot (Estragon), Evening at The Talk House (Dick) and Marie and Bruce (Bruce).

Wallace Shawn is best known for his character roles in such films as The Princess Bride, Toy Story, Young Sheldon, Clueless, Star Trek, and Annie Hall as well as his more serious turns in the films My Dinner with Andre and Vanya on 42th Street, but acting for him is something of a day job. His primary mode of expression is his writing and he is a writer unlike any other.