Penobscot Theatre Company Announces New Programming

With an eye towards the second half of their popular Digitus Theatrum Season, Penobscot Theatre Company has announced the final two productions of their Main Course series: an interactive murder mystery and a brand-new film project, focused on Maine's unique Acadian heritage. Half-Season Family and Main Course subscriptions available.

Join Florida-based actors Rachel and Brendan Powers for this tour-de-force interactive romp where YOU DECIDE the outcome! Who Killed Zolan Mize? (March 11 - April 3) asks audience to engage in the fun as they watch two detectives question six quirky suspects. Share ideas and observations with your fellow detectives along the way in the "Clues Journal," and join in a series of in-home scavenger hunts. Once all the evidence is in, you share your thoughts on the case with the detectives and a vote is held. The suspect with the most votes wins the handcuffs!

Rachel and Brendan Powers, familiar to Penobscot Theatre Company audiences from roles in Ugly Lies the Bone, Our Town and August Osage County, created Who Killed Zolan Mize? to offer a fun, entirely live, shared experience for viewers. Before the investigation begins, Rachel and Brendan meet the audience to prepare for the wacky adventure. Then the murder mystery gets underway!

PTC is selling only 20 tickets per performance and expect the run to sell out. Interested audience members are encouraged to purchase tickets early or to subscribe to ensure the performance of choice.

To close out Penobscot Theatre Company's Main Course series, PTC has commissioned Atlanta-based theatre company, Théâtre du Rêve to create a film that brings the stories of Acadian and other Francophone women to life through the lens of Maine poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's epic poem, Evangeline, a Tale of Acadie. Written in 1847, the poem gave Acadians the dignity of a narrative for their traumatic displacement and genocide at the hands of the British in 1755.

While Evangeline was an instant hit, the central romantic heroine, Evangeline is a myth. Je ne suis pas Evangeline (I am not Evangeline) (April 22 - May 9) brings the stories of real Acadian women to life and examines how these strong, opinionated women - from farmers to mill workers to suffragists, are woven into Maine's contemporary fabric.

Théâtre du Rêve producing artistic director, Carolyn Cook says, "I fell head over heels in love with Maine more than a decade ago, when I toured with a French-language play to Portland. Since then I've been digging into Maine's Francophone history and finding stories that just cry out to be told. I'm thrilled to be working with Penobscot Theatre Company on this dream project!"

Théâtre du Rêve (Theater of the Dream) is a professional theatre company that brings French language and Francophone culture to life on the American stage. TdR will offer a virtual salon entitled Evangeline Revisited on Sunday, March 14 from 3-5pm. This two-hour online event will give guests a behind-the-scene look at the development process for Je Ne Suis Pas Evangeline, including readings, clips, interviews, and lively online discussion in a festive atmosphere. No French required. Suggested donation $5-$25.

Who Killed Zolan Mize? and Je ne suis pas Evangeline are included in the Main Course subscription, along with Flyin Solo, which plays now through February 7th. Half-Season Main Course subscriptions are $90.

Half-Season Family Style subscriptions are $70 and include Mr. Ben's Playhouse (now - 2/13), The Tiniest Librarian (2/7 - 2/28) and the indie rock sensation Bee Parks and the Hornets (April 11 - May 2).

All Main Course and Family Style subscribers save up to $30 and receive discounted tickets to Dog Operas, which begin March 2.

Single, household tickets for Flyin Solo, Who Killed Zolan Mize? and Je ne suis pas Evangeline are $40. Tickets and subscriptions can be purchased online at www.penobscottheatre.org or by calling the box office at (207) 942-3333.

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